Frozen Alive

This joint British-German production was released in 1964. Frozen Alive (FA) is another iteration of the Frozen trope which reappears periodically. In this case, it is deliberate freezing ("for science!") and not the found-in-ice type. The German release was titled, Der Fall X701 ("Case X701"). Shot in black and white, FA is more of a crime melodrama with some sci-fi used in a secondary role. FA stars Mark Stevens as Dr. Frank Overton, and Marianne Koch as Dr. Helen Wieland. Director Bernard Knowles was more experienced in television work, but did go on to direct Spaceflight IC-1 a year later.

Quick Plot Synopsis
At the Low Temperature Research lab of the World Health Organization, Dr. Helen Weiland is nervous about presenting her work at a symposium. Lab partner, Dr. Frank Overton assures her she'll do fine. At the symposium, they describe their work in cryogenics, freezing chimps and reviving them alive. Suspended animation will be a boon to surgery. Applause. Meanwhile, Frank's wife Joan is dressed to impress and getting drunk. She is jealous. (Frank spends a lot of time at work with pretty young Helen). Joan attends the end of the symposium, but manages to embarrass more than impress. She seeks solace with her pre-marriage flame, Tony, who still wants her. Joan and Tony go to a bar and take in an african band with a fire dancer. She gets drunk. Tony gets a must-do assignment due at dawn. She gets even more drunk at Tony's apartment. While he tries to work on a magazine article, she finds a souvenir pistol of his. She puts it in her purse and staggers off to go frighten Helen. Again, she only manages to embarrass herself and Frank. Frank and Helen win some prestigious award for their work, which has a nice cash prize. Award or not, the director of the lab, Sir Keith, orders the project shifted before it starts any potentially embarrassing human trials (and failures). Frank is to be reassigned to some other project. Helen call Frank to tell him the bad news. While on the phone, she overhears Frank discover that Joan has the gun. (She was ashamed and trying to hide it) All Helen hears is: "Give me the gun." Bam! Scream. Frank comes back to the phone and says it was only a broken lightbulb popping. Actually, the gun just went off as they struggled and shot a pillow. The prize money offers hope of reconciliation for Frank and Joan. They'll get away, but first, Frank wants to help Helen with a human trial before their team is officially dissolved. He goes to the lab and volunteers to be the guinea pig. Meanwhile, Tony comes over to Joan's house wanting his missing gun. Joan is happy at turning over a sober new leaf and her rekindled marriage, but while gesturing with the pistol, shoots herself in the chest. She dies. Tony, scared, takes the gun and wipes down things with his prints on them. Frank is frozen. The maid finds dead Joan. Scream. The police show up at the lab. Frank is suspected of murdering Joan, since there was no gun found. Helen is shocked. While they thaw and revive Frank, Helen conspires to have him die of complications. His EKG goes flat line. Tony gets a conscience and tells the police what happened. Helen overhears the police report that it Joan died of a self-inflicted wound. She quickly saves Frank from his "complications." A year later, Frank and Helen are a happy couple in love. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
There is a nostalgia appeal to FA. It feels as if it could have been a 40s or early 50s film. The actors do a reasonable job with their characters, keeping them from slipping into stereotypes. Although, the Sir Keith character tends to be the customary project director who fears bad publicity so shuts down the promising project.

Cultural Connection
Writers and audiences seemed fascinated with the idea of temporary death. It offers a sort of earthly parallel to resurrection, though less like Christ's and more like Lazarus. Those who get their second life (post-freeze) usually end up dead again anyhow. Cheating death appeals to the mortal imagination.

Notes
Serious Science -- To its credit, FA presents what it has for science fiction in the "hard" sense of credible possibility, not fantasy wonder. The screenplay offers up noticeably less techno-babble than usual to try to sell the notion to the audience. Cryogenics is portrayed almost as matter of fact. It is not crucial to the story, but does provide the pivotal recovery process which gave Helen her option to revive him, or let him die. For the story's sake, it could have been high pressure (as in deep sea diving) or some drug-induced coma, etc. as the "science" that provided the key scene.

Dual Triangles -- The more dominant melodrama involved two love triangles with Frank at the intersection of them. Tony likes Joan who loves Frank, and Helen who secretly likes Frank who is still loyal to Joan. In typical British fashion, the soap opera aspect is not over played. Most of the movie hangs on whether Joan or Frank will stay faithful to each other. Any sci-fi elements are secondary.

Good Girl, Bad Girl -- The character of Joan almost steals the show. The movie could just as appropriately have been titled "Poor Joan." She is actually rather well written and well acted by Delphi Lawrence. At first, she is the two dimensional bad girl: an alcoholic with a bad attitude and perhaps an affair on the side. Further in, she is the faithful wife, but tormented by feelings of inadequacy, yet desperately wanting to be worthy of the man she deeply loves. Hence the drinking. Near the end, when Frank shows his loyalty to her, she resolves to BE worthy, giving up the booze to be the good wife. Her accidental death made her a sort of anti-hero of the story. Her failure opened the door for Helen, (the almost always good girl) who loved Frank from afar, and Frank to have Helen, whom he admired for her mind. (It didn't hurt that she was shapely and cute too).

Did He Actually Do It? -- One might wonder if Frank actually did set things up to allow Joan to shoot herself. She said she wanted to. HE checked the gun's clip and declared the gun empty. If he knew enough to check the clip, he would have known to check the chamber. He didn't. An intentional oversight? Frank did not get to see the new-leaf Joan. What he got was the Joan that was not too keen on living a quiet life in the country as wife and mother. Frank did seem awfully happy to have Helen in the end.

Killing For Science -- At the climax of the movie (as mild as it is), Helen has it in her power to let Frank die at a crucial juncture in the recovery process. She clearly opts to let him die. Was she acting as judge, jury and executioner based on what she heard in the phone call? Was she sparing Frank a nastier death by capital punishment? Or, was she protecting the program from torrid publicity?

Pointless Fire Dance -- Far too much footage is devoted to the fire dancer act in the nightclub Joan and Tony visit. The scene goes well beyond the range of an establishing shot, or a flavor shot. It's almost a demo reel for the act, as if the producer had promised the band that he would put them into one of his movies to give them their big break. They do nothing for the story.

Bottom line? FA is primarily a low B-grade crime drama in a film-noir sort of way.The sci-fi component is minimal. The pace is somewhat slow at times and talky at others. Some consider FA a very dull movie. Viewers hankering for explosions and laser battles will likely be bored to tears. FA is a less sensational member of the Frozen sub-genre, but at least tries to maintain some dignity.

Invasion of the Neptune Men

Since this English-dubbed version of a japanese superhero movie went straight to television with no American theatrical release, it technically falls outside of the scope of this study. However, it features three things in common with the film just reviewed (Invasion) -- invading aliens, a force-field dome, and a woman named Yoko. Invasion of the Neptune Men (INM) was also requested by one of the followers of this humble blog. So, here it is. The Japanese title was, "Uchu Kaisoku-sen" (Space hypership), released by Toei Company. It stars Sonny Chiba before he was famous for his martial arts film roles. Many viewers rail on INM as one of the "worst films ever." True, it does suffer from being a variation of a copy of an adaptation (more on that below), but most complaints center around the dubbing in the english version released by Walter Manley Enterprises in 1964. In truth, the original Space Hypership was not a great film, but not all that terrible either. What it did have, was atrocious dubbing.

Quick Plot Synopsis

Mr. Tachibana shows his science club (six 10 yr old boys) a film about a satellite going to the moon. They blather praise for Tachibana as a scientist, then go out to watch for a satellite (in the daytime?) with telescopes. The runty boy sees a rocket land. They all run to see. Around town, people experience electrical things running backwards. The boys find the rocket, but instantly surrounded by aliens in bullet-headed spacesuits. The Neptune Men close in and start to strangle the boys, but a blast of wind knocks everyone down. Space Chief rides in to the rescue in his rocket car. The boys run off. Space Chief fights the aliens. They withdraw to the ship and blast off. The boys interrupt a press briefing by famous scientist Dr. Tanigawa. (one of the boys is his son). The reporters ask what caused the electrical reversal. The boy say it was space men. Tachibana believes them (because he is really Space Chief). They take a reporter out to the site. They find an unearthly bit of metal shot off the rocket by Space Chief's ray gun. Tests show trace elements only found on Neptune. Tanigawa thinks they will return. They do, firing missiles at the city. The city's electro-forcefield-dome stops the missiles. The Neptune Men fly off. Later, a small pod lands outside the boys' home. They carry the little Weber Grill pod into space headquarters to show Tanigawa. He figures out that it's a message pod. The Neptune Men tell earthlings that they will return and defeat the electro-dome. Resistance is futile, etc. etc. See you tomorrow at 12:30. Soldiers are stationed all around the dome's power control building (and space lab HQ) At 12:40, a storm brews up. People take cover. Lightning strikes a tree. Evil copy soldiers step out from behind it. They kill some real soldiers (Hiroshima style). Some go in the power building, some accost the boys. Space Chief, once again, saves the boys with a blast of wind. He then zaps the evil soldiers with his ray gun. They briefly resume their bullet-headed true form, then fade to nothing. Too late, though, the power is destroyed. Dr. Tanigawa is left unconscious from their attack. The aliens return, launching six-pointed saucers from their mother ship. The saucers shoot up a bunch of city buildings, making them blow up dramatically -- including the "famous" Hitler building. Space Chief arrives and dogfights the many spiky saucers. He eventually shoots them all down. Meanwhile, back at the underground base, Tachibana shows up to help fix the missile defenses. When up and running, they fire their Nike-esque missiles at the Neptune Men's mother ship. It is hit and explodes. Cheers. Pan up, pan down to the boys, Tachibana and Yoko sitting at a fountain. The boys talk of inventing stuff cooler than what Space Chief has and flying to Mars. They walk arm in arm back to the lab. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
After reading about how awful it was supposed to be, it was actually somewhat entraining to look for silver linings or nuggets amid the ample dross. The rocket car has a sort of 50s kitsch cool to it. Sonny Chiba as a lanky young string bean of a nerd is kind of amusing too.

Cold War Angle

The Neptune Men blow up a few nuclear reactors trying to get the nations of earth to start a nuclear war with each other and thereby make conquest easier. Instead, the nations band together in noble solidarity to face a common enemy. Of particular note, is how the Japanese soldiers "died" when zapped by the Neptune Men. They left silhouettes on walls, like were found in Hiroshima. The power of this was not lost on Japanese audiences.

Notes
Super, Thrice Removed -- Toei Studios' 1961 super hero "Iron Sharp" (Space Chief in the English version), was a copy of Prince of Space, which Toei marketed in 1959. Prince of Space was himself a copy of Toho Studios' serial hero, "Supa Jaiantsu" (Super Giant), who was himself a copy of Superman. Like Prince of Space, Space Chief had his secret mild mannered civilian guise. Walter Manley Enterprises brought Super Giant to American audiences as "Starman," in such films as Evil Brain From Outer Space

Iron Sharp -- In the beginning of the japanese version, the boys lament that their science club advisor, Mr. Tachibana is smart, but too weak and nerdy. They fantasize about a super hero. They decide to name him "Iron Sharp." Curiously, they use the English words, though pronounced: Ion Shop. In the English version, he is dubbed as Space Chief. The original film includes a heroic song and some extended shots of Iron Sharp flying in his rocket car under the credits. The English version cut this useful backstory.

Shifting Credit -- In the Japanese version, Tachibana talks about following up on the success of Yuri Gegarin's flight (in April '61, so very topical) and working with scientists in Moscow on rocket designs. In the English dubbed version, Tachibana is made to say "Major Glenn's" flight (February '62, INM released in '64) and working with a Dr. Strauss. Can't have the Soviets getting any credit in the space race -- to American audiences.

Rocket Car -- The overall tenor of INM is low-budget matinee fare aimed at young boys. There are a few areas where it is evident that Toei spent some money -- probably in anticipation of doing sequels. Some of the control room and "lab" sets are more extensive than the usual slap-dash cheapie. Space Chief's rocket car is another. In the edited American version, it gets less screen time. It is actually powered (though apparently having no suspension). It looks kind of retro-cool in its flying closeups.

Cathartic Air War -- There is something vaguely wishful in the fight against the Neptune Men. In WWII, Japan did not fare well under American air power. In INM, Space Chief successfully dogfights and shoots down all the invading fighters. Japan's missile defenses successfully destroy the mother ship bomber. Were Japanese audiences enjoying a sort of analogy history as it wasn't?

The Hitler Building? -- The crew of MST3K had great fun with the destruction of a building with a large painting of Hitler on its side. Indeed, it is still a bizarre non sequitur in INM. Actually, the destroyed buildings footage are recycled from a prior Toei film, World War III Breaks Out ('60). Toho's The Last War ('61) was a similar doom story.

Bottom line? INM is not great cinema, but matinee fodder aimed at young japanese boys. They didn't expect deep plots with subtle nuances. Yet, it is not really as bad as its many critics say. Get over the clumsy dubbing and you have a mild story with a hero thwarting some invading aliens.
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Unearthly Stranger

A fitting digression following Karloff's Alien Terror is this film from 1964. Unearthly Stranger (US) is a British production, released in the UK in '63, but in America in '64 via American International. The story is solidly in the invading aliens-in-human-disguise genre. US is the product of obscure producers ("Indpendent Artists"), a serviceable (but lesser-known) director and written by a man whose prior effort was the strange The Brain That Wouldn't Die.  US stars John Neville (later famous as the Baron von Munchausen). The angelic Gabriella Licudi co-stars as the unearthly stranger.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Mark Davidson runs along the dark streets of London, panic in his eyes. He runs to his office and starts to tape his story, since he expects to die soon. (Flashback begins). A Professor Munroe is a key researcher in a project to harness the power of the human mind to teleport human consciousness to other planets. (better than rockets) In his office, a whirring sound starts. He clutches his ears and drops dead on his desk. Major Clarke (Security) tells Munroe's boss, Prof. Lancaster, that several American scientists and a couple Russian ones, all engaged in the same line of research, died the same way. Mark Davidson is Munroe's likely replacement. He is told nothing. Clarke puzzles over Davidson's new bride who doesn't seem to have any documented history. Davidson is curious about a trace element found in Munroe's body -- an element thus far only found on returning space capsules. He goes downstairs to check out Munroe's body, but the casket is full of bricks. Then the casket is just gone. Davidson muses to Lancaster, about whether "others" out there, might have solved the mental teleportation thing first and are on earth already. He someone wonders about his bride, Julie. He's never seen her blink. Davidson invites Lancaster over for a surprise dinner. She blinks obviously, but Lancaster happens to oversee her take hot casseroles out of a hot over with her bare hands. Full suspicion falls on Julie, but Davidson defends her (love is blind). Davidson refigures out the formula that Munroe had worked on and thinks he has it. He arranges for Lancaster to meet him at the office, but Clarke is there instead. He takes the folder with the formula, but is stricken dead in the outer room. The folder is a pile of smoking ash. Davidson and Lancaster figure that the aliens must have to concentrate pretty hard to keep up their human form. If they were unconscious, say from Ether, they could see their true form. They agree to try it on Julie. Davidson goes home. Julie confesses being "one of them." Her assignment was to meet him, seduce him, then kill him, but she fell in love instead. They can't just run away. "They" will find them. The noise whirrs. Davidson holds Julie tight, but she disappears. Only the robe remains. Davidson runs to his office (end flashback). He's making his tape when the secretary, Miss Ballard comes in. She is one of them and tells how her kind have been on earth for 20 years, they're all around, thwarting man's attempts to get into outer space. Now it's his turn to die. At that moment, Lancaster comes up from behind Ballard and slaps a gauze full of ether over her mouth. After much struggle, she falls out a window. When they rush to the sidewalk, only a white lab coat remains. The crowd of pedestrian gawkers have creepy stoic faces. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
US is proof of how a well crafted story can be told on screen with a very small budget. The story is well told, not giving away too much too soon and with a few false trails to keep things mysterious. The acting is good, never feeling like actors reciting lines. The fact that there are ZERO special effects makes US all the more remarkable.

Cold War Angle
Much in the same vein as Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('56), the paranoia of the Cold War drives the plot. People might seem like one of "us", but all the while really one of "them." At one point, David suspects his wife is a Russian spy. Who else could it possibly be?

Notes
Credit Worthy -- The credits say the story was "based on an idea by" Jeffrey Stone (an actor who played mostly minor roles). Stone's "idea" seems based on the 1937 novel "To Walk The Night" by William Sloane. The Carlton/Stone story in US has several similarities, but also enough deviations. Central to both, is a mysterious beautiful woman with no documented past, who doesn't fit in well. She is married to a man doing very advanced research -- in a field where top researchers keep mysteriously dying. Her mission is to kill the men in that line of research. The deviations occur in the several characters and their relationships. The research in US is teleportation, not time travel. And, in keeping with the Body Snatchers mood, there are many of them, not just the one woman. Still there are enough similarities that Sloane deserved some credit.

Camera Angles -- Perhaps best for a second viewing -- after the story is familiar -- note the camera work Fisher uses. The camera work knits together smoothly, so individual shots don't stand out as a distraction. There are tilted-cam shots for the "something's not right here" mood. There are long shots of cars driving away, but also extreme close ups of a screaming face. Even in those close-ups, Kirsch opts for deep depth of field compositions -- A close-up face on one side of the screen, and some distant objects, like an attic door, or down a spiral stairwell on the other. Kirsch keeps things visually interesting.

Memorable Creepy -- One great scene stands out, among several. Julie, returning from grocery shopping, stops by a playground to watch the kids playing. She smiles at their fun. But, one by one, the kids stop playing, stand still and stare at her. Then, en masse, they slowly back away, never taking their stare from her. Nothing is said. It's all body language talking.

The Power of Love -- Like in several other alien invader stories, the alien is "turned" by the power of human love. Julie was sent as an assassin, but experienced human love. This is usually male aliens falling for our obviously desirable earth women. I Married a Monster From Outer Space ('58) comes readily to mind.

Bottom line? Unearthly Stranger is definitely worth seeking out, even if it's airing at 3 a.m. on some obscure cable channel. It's a well told story, well acted and very well filmed. It has no special effects to speak of, but never feels cheap. This is first rate B movie sci-fi entertainment.

Evil of Frankenstein

After a five year hiatus, Hammer Films released its third Frankenstein film: The Evil of Frankenstein (EoF). Somewhat in keeping with the previous film, (Revenge of…) which contained little recognizable revenge, EoF contains scant evil by the doctor. Peter Cushing stars again as the baron. The story line is not a continuation of that in RoF, but is instead a near-total rewrite. This prompts many Hammer fans to consider EoF the weakest of Hammer's series.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A scruffy man steals the body of a recently deceased young man from his ramshackle cabin. He is seen by a small girl. The man brings the body to another cabin, in which Victor and Hans have set up a rustic lab. However, a local priest traces the body theft to Victor's cabin. He smashes some of Victor's gear and leaves to get help. Victor and Hans pack up and leave. They ride back to Karlstaad, where Victor's chateau is. He planned to sell some of the furnishings and paintings to finance a new start, but the chateau is bare. In flashback, Victor tells how he created his first creature, which escaped and killed local sheep. Hunters found it, shot it, and it was lost in the Alps. The flashback ends. Victor and Hans go into town, mingling amid the carnival wearing masks. Victor sees the Burgomeister wearing his (Victor's) old ring and talks too loudly about him being a thief. They narrowly escape the police. A deaf-mute beggar girl leads them to a mountain cave for shelter. In the cave, Victor discovers his creature, frozen in glacial ice. They make a fire, thaw him out and sneak back into the chateau. They repair the gizmos and revive the creature. It lives, but in a coma. Needing a mental jolt, Victor enlists the aid of a sideshow hypnotist. Zoltan does revive the creature, but is the only one the creature will obey. Zoltan abuses this power, having the creature steal gold objects from the village church, then kill the Burgomeister and a policeman. Victor banishes Zoltan, but Zoltan sneaks back and orders the creature to kill Victor. The creature, conflicted, stabs Zoltan instead, and flees to the mountains. The police arrive and arrest Victor for all the murders. In town, the police and villagers finally believe it was the monster, not Victor, so they travel in the typical mob to the chateau. Victor escapes and beats them there. The creature suffers from headaches. The beggar girl offers him wine to soothe him. He likes it and gets drunk. When drunk, he drinks from a bottle that isn't wine. Angry and in pain, he wrecks the lab sparking a fire. Hans and the girl escape. Victor and the creature remain in the flames. The chateau tower blows up. The End.

Sci-fi Connections
There is the usual small amount of steampunk equipment and bio-medical stuff. Victor's lab is more "classic" because of the deal with Universal (see Notes below). The theme of science/research being harassed by society, has relevance even today. The notion of unscrupulous men abusing science for their own selfish agenda, is also relevant.

Saga Connection
Jimmy Sangster, who wrote the screenplay for the first two films, and Terrance Fisher, who direct both prior films, were not involved. As a result, the story line is almost completely unconnected to the prior one. Only the presence of Victor's assistant, Hans, is a carryover. Via flashback, the whole story is recast as if the first two films had not existed.

Notes
Universal Influence -- In the making of the prior two films, Hammer was careful to avoid similarities with Universal's story lines, characters or the look of their sets and costumes. In the late 50s, Hammer and Universal had a distribution agreement. Hammer also bought the rights to remake all of Universal's prior monster themes. EoF seems to showcase this now-legal ability to copy. The monster's make-up takes on the tall forehead, flat top and clomping big shoes of Jack Pierce's makeup. The monster is found encased in ice in a cave, thawed out and brought back to life, ala Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man and House of Frankenstein. There is a schemer who uses the monster to commit crimes, ala Ygor in Son of…. There is the fire and explosion in the lab, at the end, destroying a tower of the castle, ala Bride of…. The homage (or cheap copying, depending on your point of view) of Universal sometimes puts off Hammer fans.

Mild Scientist -- Despite the title, Baron Frankenstein is the mildest he's been since Bride of…. Far from being evil, Victor is not-unjustly angry at the Burgomeister for stealing all his possessions. Victor still steals bodies, but isn't killing anyone for their parts, ala Curse of…. In fact, Victor is aghast that Zoltan used the monster to kill people. Victor seems genuinely worried about the village when the monster had escaped. At the end, it was Victor who assumed the monster's altruism at the end of Bride of…, telling Hans to take the beggar girl to safety. All in all, this was a very un-evil Frankenstein.

Sets Dejavu -- A sharp eyed viewer will notice reuse of Hammer sets in EoF. The lab set is the same (even if slightly redecorated) as in Revenge of…, and the same as Dracula's crypt. The village buildings should look familiar too.

Bottom line? EoF will well paced and entertaining enough on its own. Hammer fans may hold it in lower esteem, but Universal fans may enjoy the homage to the classics. Cushing, as always, is worth watching.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Okay. I have to admit that I have been avoiding this film. Released in 1964, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (SCCM) was beyond "bad." SCCM often ranks high on "worst film ever" listings. However, Christmas was coming just as the films of 1969 were wrapping up. And, starting the new series, "FrankenFEST" on Christmas, just didn't seem right. At least SCCM would be date-appropriate, so in the forgiving spirit of Christmas, I give you, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.  Merrrrry Christmas! Ho Ho Ho.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Two martian children are watching Earth television programming about Santa making toys at his workshop. Their father,Kimar (King Martian), and mother Momar (Mom Martian) worry that their kids don't eat much and just watch TV all the time. Apparently this is the same all over Mars. Kids are as dull as adults. Kimar summons the council and consults Mars' oldest citizen, Chochem, for advice. Chochem says the kids don't have a childhood. All education and responsibility. Need to learn to laugh and play. How? Mars needs a Santa. So, Kimar plans to fly to earth and steal Santa Claus. When he and the others arrive, they are fooled by so many street corner santas. They kidnap Billy and Betty to make them reveal which is the real Santa. They then all travel to the North Pole. They kidnap Santa too, but decide to take Billy and Betty, lest they alert the authorities. En route, Voldar is all upset at bringing toys and laughter to Mars -- the "warrior" planet. Sneakily, he tries to jettison Santa and the kids out the airlock. He fails. On Mars, Santa eventually gets the morose mars-kids: Bomar (Boy Martian) and Girmar (Girl Martian) to laugh. Kimar thinks this is great, so builds a toy making factory. Santa doesn't make toys, he pushes buttons on toy machine. Voldar and his henchmen, lurking as outcasts in a cave, attempt to kidnap Santa for themselves, to use him as a hostage to force Kimar to stop the happy-ization of Mars. Trouble is, they kidnap the comic sidekick, Dropo, who was dressing up as Santa, just for fun. More hi-jinx ensue when Voldar thinks he's got the upper hand, but Santa (the real one) is obviously not his hostage. Voldar is attacked by the children with toys in a comic melee. Kimar has him arrested. All is well. Billy and Betty are homesick. Santa, having charmed (conquered, I suppose) all the martians (except Voldar) into smiles, wants to get back for Christmas. Dropo will be the Martian Santa, operate the toy factory and bring toys and peace and good will to all of Mars. Everyone says goodbye. The rocket flies back to earth. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
It is designed to appeal to young children, so it is intended to be a sappy sort of "fun." At an adult level, there is some amusement at the parody of classic science fiction films: martians, cheap "alien" sets and ray guns, etc.

Cold War Angle
SCCM has no Cold War elements. It is self-deprecating slap stick with no deeper message than adults-are-stupid and kids-rule.

Notes
Kid TV Context -- Before judging SCCM too severely, it should be kept in mind that it was aimed at young kids. It was not intended to be a cerebral adult sci-fi. Instead, think of SCCM in the context of children's TV of the early 60s. Look at it as a cross between Captain Kangaroo and Major Astro. The later was an after school kids' show (in Kansas) with a host in a space suit and on a simple "moon base" set. SCCM is more in the spirit of "Captain Kangaroo On Mars" than  Robinson Crusoe on Mars (also 1964).

Kids' POV -- Note how many plot elements are The World, from a kid's point of view. Parents worry that they watch too much TV. Santa is unquestionably real. Martians are real too, are green and have antennae. Many adults are inept bumblers. And, in a bit of pandering, kids can subdue adults with toys. Of course, adult viewers (of serious sci-fi) balk and choke at the silliness, but from the POV of an eight year old in 1964, it all seemed plausible enough.

Gandhi Claus -- On a somewhat more adult level, the message is that kids really can be harmed by too much (inane) TV. Note the subtle pacifist persona of Santa in SCCM. He wins people over to the "Light" side with contagious laughter and jokes. Even though he knows full well that Voldar was trying to kill him, Santa couches it carefully as an "accident." The only "action" Santa condones was the toy attack on Voldar -- symbolic of how "fun" can subdue evil. In the end, Gandhi Claus has everyone convinced to live peaceably, with the biblical phrasing of '"Peace on Earth" (and Mars) and "Goodwill to all men."

Serial Flashback -- For adult viewers in 1964, who may have been eight years old in the late 40s or early 50s, the robot Torg was a bit of nostalgia. Yes, he was crudely constructed compared to Robby or Planeta Bur's John. Torg, however, was all a kid needed for a robot. In fact, Torg seemed very reminiscent to the robot of Republic's early serials or the tin men of Captain Video. One might suspect that Torg was a tragic bit of underachievement, but quite intentional.

Nearly Farr -- Viewers familiar with the TV series M*A*S*H could be mistaken for thinking they see actor Jamie Farr playing the role of Stolo, one of Voldar's inept comic minions. The resemblance is strong, but Stolo is actually played by Al Nesor. Uncredited is Pia Zadora (later more famous for singing than acting) in her first movie role as Girmar.

Bottom line? Complains that SCCM is a terrible adult movie, is akin to blasting SpongeBob for not being deep enough, or The Muppets as a poor production. SCCM should be viewed as an extended after-school television special, designed for an innocent eight year old (or younger). Yes, it's silly, shallow and cheaply done. Get over it. It's a kids' show on Christmas. Enjoy it as an innocent eight year old.

If you're not too adult to handle it, you can watch it on YouTube, just for fun.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians - YouTube

Fail Safe

Curiously, Columbia Pictures ended up with two Brink-Of-War films in 1964. Fail Save (FS) came out 10 months after Columbia's Dr. Strangelove. They're bookends. FS was well directed and well filmed. It had big name actors, such as Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau. It even had some "free" pre-release publicity. Yet, FS did not do well. Unlike the satire, Dr. Strangelove, FS was a serious drama on the same topic, but following comedy made it harder to be taken seriously. The film deserved better. Watch for a young Dom DeLuise in his first film. A bit part as Sgt. Collins.

Quick Plot Synopsis
General Black wakes from a recurring bad dream, but composes himself, leaves his wife and two boys in New York City and flies to a pentagon briefing. Professor Goetschele (Matthau) is a political scientist and advisor to the Pentagon. He thinks nuclear war can be survived. The real question is which superpower is better prepared to survive and emerge. At an Air Force Base in Omaha, generals give a tour for a congressman. They get a brief moment of tension as a UFO scrambles fighters and puts patrolling bombers on alert. The UFO turns out to be commercial plane off course. A faulty circuit box is replaced, causing a brief blip in the system. This blip sends the attack order to bomber Group 6. They head for Moscow. The Russians have a radio jammer going, so the recall order doesn't get to Group 6. The President (Fonda), the Pentagon and Omaha base confer on what to do. The President orders some fighters to intercept and shoot down the bombers. But, with such a head start, they fail to reach them. Hawks among the advisors, such as Colonel Cascio and Professor Groeteschele urge that America capitalize on the error and launch a massive first strike. Win the Cold War right now. Doves among the advisors speak of the millions killed and moral wrong. The President calls the Russian Premier to discuss options. After some bickering and jockeying, and the Soviet's failure to shoot down all the bombers, the President orders defense secrets given to the Russians to improve their success. This works, but patriotic Colonel Cascio can take no further compromise and takes command of the Omaha SAC base. He is taken into custody. The Russians shoot down all but one bomber. Their last defense is to launch up all their surface to air missiles (heat seekers), in hopes of making a fireball and trap the low flying bomber. To prove his sincerity that it was all an accident, the President tells the Premier that if the bomber gets through and Moscow is bombed, he will order an American bomber to bomb New York City. The trade is horrible, but keeps the general peace. Grady, the pilot of the bomber, figures out the Russian missile tactic and evades it. The blast irradiates them (he says) so they decide to blow up with their bombs over Moscow. The President hear's the ambassador's phone squeal, so orders General Black to drop the bombs on New York. He does, then injects himself with poison. He realizes he is the matador from his dream. Routine life in NYC is shown in mini-video vignettes. They all zoom in and freeze frame for the moment the bombs explode. The End.

Armageddon
All four of the big Nuclear Doom movies came out of the late 1950s. On the Beach ('59) was the first movie. The stories from which Fail Safe and Dr Strangelove would come, were written in 1958. The Last War came out in 1961. At that time, Russia had the bomb, and post-Sputnik ('57), they'd proven they had capable rockets too. Diplomacy was not going well. Things looked especially bleak. The Cuban Missile Crisis was coming together. All four stories imagined the unimaginable -- that global nuclear war would happen, and wipe out all life on earth. In FS, it is only the two major cities, Moscow and New York that are wiped out, but they serve as proxies, representatives for what would happen to the whole world if that terrible compromise had not been reached.

Influence on Sci-fi
As mentioned before, many of the post-armageddon stories that populate sci-fi, usually pick up their stories well after the above-mentioned nuclear armageddon has taken place. These four apocalyptic films serve as understood footnotes for how those future worlds of mutants and cave-dwelling remnants got that way.

Cold War Spotlight
FS is pretty much 100% Cold War as a topic, but a little bit of American boosterims manages to seep through. The American President is the cool, calm leader type. The Russian Premier (all off camera) is more flighty and prone to brag and bluster. American weapons and defense systems are superior to the Russians. The moral of the film is delivered by Fonda near the end, talking to the Russian Premier. "We're to blame, both of us. We let our machines get out of hand. Today we had a taste of the future. Do we learn from it, or go on the way we have What do we say to the dead? We must say that it will not happen again. What we put between us, we can remove." FS preaches reconciliation.

Notes
Battle of the Books -- Before both films, Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe, had been released, there was a rather public legal battle. The writer of the story that would become the basis for Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, sued the writers of the book "Fail Safe." (published in 1962) for plagiarism. While the book had been on the shelves for over a year, it was news of Max Youngstein (former of United Artists) working on a film version of "Fail Safe" that prompted the suit. Peter George's "Red Alert" was published in 1958. He alleged plagiarism. Harvey Wheeler, one of the authors of "Fail Safe" countered that the book was based on his prior story, "Abaraham '58" and that George took no legal action until news of the movie broke. The parties settled out of court, with part of the settlement being that Columbia be granted rights to the Fail Safe. Now Columbia had two Doom movies.

Early Trace -- Harvey Wheeler asserted that he did not plagiarize Peter George's "Red Alert", but wrote a similar story a year earlier. His short story had a similar scenario and was titled "Abraham '58". There is a hint of this in the screenplay. At one point, the President asks Blacky if he remembers his Old Testament. Particularly the story of Abraham. Not much more is said in the movie, but this was a reference to events in Genesis 22, where Abraham follows orders from God to sacrifice his son Isaac on the altar. (God stops him at the last minute.) Wheeler used this imagery for a president's burden in deciding people's fates, hence his title. Perhaps this is a bit of his short story that survived into the script. It's interesting that Wheeler assumed he could include a mere mention of Abraham and that his audience would be familiar enough with the Bible to catch his inference.

Nascent Technophobia -- The distrust (if not fear) of machines had been perking in the background during the 50s. It showed up only a few times. In Gog ('54), robots and computers kill, but it is still by a human (enemy) hand guiding them. In Invisible Boy ('57), a super computer becomes sentient and tries to take over. Amid the Cold War, technophobia got a huge boost as people realized the vast power (nukes) that their machines controlled. In the Marathon of Doom films (see below), mechanical failures are the sparks that blow up the world. Fear of computers would grow as the 60s and 70s wore on. These Doom films highlight that moment when people realized they had voluntarily yielded too much power and responsibility to them. Many a sci-fi tale would spring from this.

Dying Phones Squeal? -- An iconic element in FS was the pronouncement that they would know if the bombs were dropped on Moscow because the phone line would emit a loud squeal as the ambassador's phone melted. It's dramatic, like a symbolic technological metaphor for the screams of the millions of Moscovites. The reality would be less dramatic. A nuclear bomb would be more likely to have broken phone lines (simple, undramatic dead air) than it would have left them intact long enough to melt the phone. The death squeal is undeniably more powerful for storytelling, though.

Star Plane -- Where Dr. Strangelove had some of its story play out in the cramped interior of a B-52, FS's counterpart was the cramped cockpit of a Convair B-58. In real life, the B-58 was called "Hustlers." In the movie, they're called "Vindicators". (Also note how the planes are always shown in negative) In reality, the B-58 was America's ace in the Cold War game. Capable of flying at mach 2 and very high, it was thought that the Hustler would be nearly impossible for the Soviets to stop, far better than the huge, lumbering B-52s. Strategic Air Command imagined the B-58 performing just the role depicted in the film. Actually, advances in Soviet missile technology made high altitude approaches too risky. The B-58 was then planned to fly in low, under radar, but at the lower altitude, it could not fly as fast. The B-58 was also tricky to fly and expensive to maintain. By the mid-60s, the Pentagon sought a better, less expensive alternative. By 1970, the B-58 was retired. The FB-111 was that smaller, cheaper alternative. Ironically, the B-52s that the Hustler was designed to replace, stayed in active service into the 21st century as the only viable carrier of air-launch cruise missiles.

Doom Marathon -- An interesting movie marathon (though not necessarily a "fun" one), would be to start off with The Last War ('61) for a third party's view of Armageddon-Via-Mistakes. Follow that with Fail Safe ('64) for an American view of the same scenario (just expand Moscow/New York to mean the world). Third up should be Dr. Strangelove ('64) for a satirical view of the same. Stop there if you wanted a fun evening with friends. But, if you wanted the complete Atomic Angst experience, wrap it up with On The Beach ('59) for that last forlorn look at mankind's end. Any Generation Y or Millennial who doesn't understand what everyone was so stressed about back in the Cold War days, should have a pretty good idea after this Marathon of Doom.

Bottom line? FS is a solid film, well paced, well acted, and visually strong (aside from the odd negative airplanes). It is well worth watching as a drama-thriller, but especially so as a window into the soul of Cold War fears.

Dr. Strangelove

Stanley Kubrick created a masterpiece of Cold War satire in 1964 with Dr. Strangelove (Dr.S). The full title includes the line "…or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb." It stars some big-name actors who live up to their reputations. Peter Sellers, especially, plays three important roles as Colonel Mandrake, President Muffley and Dr. Strangelove. George C. Scott plays General Turgidson. Sterling Hayden plays the unbalanced General Ripper. Dr.S is another Atomic Angst movie to fret openly about the imminence of destruction of all life on earth, but it does so in the rare style of satire and dark humor. Gallows humor? Much has been written about this movie already, so this review won't be exhaustive.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The commander of a Strategic Air Command base in Texas issues an attack order to his 34 B-52 bombers who are on routine air-readiness stations aloft. General Jack D. Ripper (Hayden) also orders the base closed with shoot-to-kill orders for anyone approaching. The commies will disguise themselves as American troops. The bombers open their Attack Plan R envelopes and proceed to targets. The rest of the government are aware of the bombers heading for Russia, but they cannot be contacted. Plan R ordered radio silence and allowed only one secret recall code, known only to Ripper. The president (Sellers) and other advisors debate what to do. General Turgidson (Scott) urges for full scale attack with missiles too. Might as well do the job right and prevent retaliation. Meanwhile, Colonel Mandrake (Sellers) is holed up with Ripper, who is clearly a paranoid psychotic. It unfolds that he sees fluoridation as a communist plot to weaken the American male's "bodily fluids." The president orders nearby troops to storm the closed base and get Ripper for the codes. A protracted fire fight ensues. When it is apparent that the bombers will reach their targets before the code is obtained, the president contacts the Russian premier, giving them the data necessary to shoot down the bombers. The SAC base is stormed, but Ripper commits suicide before being captured. Mandrake deduces the secret code from Ripper's desk doodles. He eventually contacts the president and all the planes are recalled -- except one. Major "King" Kong's (Slim Pickens) plane suffered radio damage in a near miss from a soviet missile, so did not get the recall. Suffering other damage too, Kong opts for a target of convenience, an ICBM base. The bomb bay doors are also damaged. He splices the wires while sitting atop one of the bombs. The doors open. He rides it down like a bronco. Back in the Pentagon war room, they find out that the Soviets have a Doomsday Device, which will automatically launch missiles with extra deadly radiation that will wipe out all life on earth -- if anyone bombs Russia with nukes. Realizing that doom is coming, the men in the wareroom listen to Dr. Strangelove's notion that they find 100,000 people to hide deep in mine shafts and wait the 100 years until it's safe to come out. He paints a male fantasy scenario of 10 women (all eager to breed) to each man, who has little else to do down in the mine shafts, so… Turgidson worries that the Russians have their babes in mine shafts already and that there is a "Mine Shaft Gap." The film ends with a montage of many different nuclear test explosions, with Vera Lynn singing her famous song, "We'll Meet Again." The End.

Armageddon
Dr.S shares with others in its doom genre that total global destruction is not averted. It shares this pessimistic view with On The Beach ('59) and The Last War ('61). It has more in common with the latter, in that it plays out in detail just how the nuclear powder keg gets touched off. Unlike The Last War in which errors eventually result in Armageddon, Dr.S makes it the willful act of a single deranged man. Interestingly, Columbia pictures felt they needed to include a scrolling-text disclaimer at the start, saying how the Air Force's safeguards would prevent anything like this from happening. Many classic era sci-fi took the presumption of events in Dr. Strangelove occuring, then spun out the tales of what happened to the scant survivors. 1000 Years From Now ('52), World Without End ('56), Planet of the Apes ('68) to mention just three of them.

Cold War Spotlight
Peter George's original novel was a cautionary tale of how the best laid plans for security in the Cold War could backfire and actually cause the cataclysm they sought to prevent. Kubrick's adaptation added the mythical Doomsday Device as a single focal point for all of the nuclear arms dangers. Just one bomb dropped would launch the end of the world. Mutually Assured Destruction.

Notes
Based on the Book -- Dr.S's primary story came from the 1958 novel by Peter George: "Red Alert". George's story is essentially the same as the primary plot in the movie, except for the ending. In the book, the president offers to let the soviets bomb one American city (Atlantic City, NJ) as compensation for the one bomb that the unreachable bomber will drop. It turns out that the lone bomber fails to drop its bomb, so all ends well. Kubrick changed that 180 degrees. George later sued the writers of the story "Fail Safe" (also made into a movie) for plagiarism.

Sex and Violence -- Kubrick's screenplay and directing interweave sex into just about every aspect of the plot. From the opening scene of a B-52 and air tanker "coupled" with lounge music in the background, to the names of characters and many visuals and scenes, Kubrick makes the story almost more about sex than nukes. Examples:
General Jack D. Ripper ( a killer of women) is paranoid about communist plots to weaken his "bodily fluids". We later learn that he means sperm, specifically. When besieged, Ripper wields the huge machine gun in particularly phallic fashion (actually impossible for the real gun).
Colonel Mandrake: The mandrake was a root plant thought to be an aphrodisiac or would enhance fertility. It's even mentioned in the Old Testament in a spat between Rachel and Leah.
President Merkin Muffley: A merkin is a pubic wig. A "muff" is the natural hair in the same role. The president is cast as a sort of feminine-side leader who is too easily side-tracked into quibbles over feelings.
General "Buck" Turgidson: is the hyper-male counterpart to Muffley. Turgid means swollen. Buck is all for getting in there and getting the job done. Very macho. He is shown in a hotel room with his secretary in a bikini. He is also keen on Dr. Strangelove's scenario of 1 man per 10 women secluded in mine shafts. There are more, too numerous to list here.

Subtle Humor -- The excellence of Kubrick's humor lies in its understatement. It also plays on absurdity set against the backdrop of the terrible and serious topic of global nuclear war. Some examples include: when Turgidson and the soviet ambassador are scuffling, the president tells them, "You can't fight in here, this the war room." When Colonel "Bat" Guano (Keenan Wynn) allows Mandrake to call the president on a payphone, he doesn't have enough change for the call. He tells Guano to break into the nearby Coke machine. With armageddon near, he refuses (deadpan), because it's private property. Also, with armageddon looming, the president and the soviet premier continue to get into protracted telephone spats over their feelings. Or, when they all discover that the soviets had a doomsday device, Dr. Strangelove points out that a deterrent is pointless if you don't tell people, the ambassador says sheepishly, "We were going to announce it on Monday?" As with the sexual references, the dark deadpan humor moments are too numerous to list here.

Military Machine -- As an interesting counterfoil to the bumblings and ineptitude of the politicians and the generals, the men aboard the B-52 carry out their roles with machine-like rhythm. Even when their plane is damaged by the soviet missile, they go about their emergency operations with cool dispatch. In Kubrick's hands, they become a human metaphor for the fabled Doomsday Device which will operate automatically -- free from meddling by fallible men.

Ghost Plane -- Admittedly a small thing, but when Kong's B-52 is flying low over the snowy Russian landscape, there is one spot, about 1 hour 35 minutes in, where the shadow can be seen. It is the shadow of a WWII bomber, the B-17. Just plane trivia.

Bottom line? Dr.S is a must-see as a cultural icon alone. Slim Pickens riding the bomb bronco style has been repeated and parodied many times. Aside from its value as an insight into Cold War mentalities (sane and insane), the acting from the stars is not to be missed. Peter Sellers plays all three of his roles amazingly well. Yet, he is almost upstaged by George C. Scott's comedic talent. Also look for an early film appearance of James Earl Jones as the bombardier on the B-52. While Kubrick gave the world a cathartic black humor look at the topic, another 1964 film, Fail Safe would examine a similar scenario, but from a totally serious point of view. The two make a great double-feature.

1964

After the abundance of sci-fi films at the end of the 50s, the scarcity of sci-fi releases in the early 60s felt like a drought. 1964 was the year things started to improve. There were a couple of major films, but the low-budget indie market was getting stronger too. Below are the sci-fi films of '64, in roughly chronological order. (those with no specified release date are at the end)

Children of the Damned -- Another variation/sequel on the theme of scary gifted children begun by Village of the Damned.

Last Man on Earth -- Vincent Price stars in this first movie adaptation of Matheson's novel "I Am Legend."

The flesh eaters -- A pirana-like bacteria trap some people on an island. An unscrupulous scientist among them wants to make it a weapon.

Gorath -- Toho Studios' big-budget retelling of When Worlds Collide ('51) but with a few twists.

The Human Vapor -- Dub of Toho's story from 1960. A variation on The Invisible Man, but he can turn himself into vapor.

Horror of Party Beach -- Toxic waste turns dead sailors into zombie monsters with a fondness for oblivious young women.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars -- Defoe's classic tale recast for the space age. An astronaut is stranded on Mars, but finds ways to survive.

The Creeping Terror -- Astoundingly odd indie film. An alien rocket lands on earth, releasing a slow and shambling monster which goes around eating people.

The Time Travelers -- An experiment to view the past becomes a time portal. The scientists become trapped in the post-apocalyptic future.

First Men on the Moon -- A film adaptation of H.G.Wells' classic tale. Features Lionel Jeffreies as Cavor and Ray Harryhausen animation.

Ikarie XB-1 -- A Czech film dubbed into english. A space ship travels to explore a mysterious "green planet" but encounter a radiation-induced sleeping sickeness en route.

The Atomic Brain -- aka Monstrosity. A shifty scientist is hired by an abusive rich old woman to transplant her brain into the body of a young buxom blonde.

The Earth Dies Screaming -- British tale of alien robots who invade earth, shutting down infrastructure, killing many, turning some into zombies.
Frozen Alive -- British crime-drama. A scientist in suspended animation is sought for the death of his wife.

Invasion of the Neptune Men -- Japan is invaded by robot-like beings from Neptune. Earth, and a group of school boys, are saved by hero "Iron Sharp" (or Space Chief).

Unearthly Stranger -- British sci-fi drama. Wife of scientist working on mental teleportation turns out to be an alien, teleported to kill him.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians -- Silly Christmas special. Santa is kidnapped by martians to make joy for douer mars kids. Teaches all martians joy.
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The Earth Dies Screaming

The title of this little British sci-fi drama doesn't quite fit, but it is grabby. There are a few screams, but the earth doesn't die. In fact, the heros seem to prevail. The story is a recasting of Target Earth ('54) set in a quaint English village instead of a large American city. A few survivors discover that almost everyone has been killed. Aliens are the cause. 50s-style apocalyptic stories still had an appeal. Director Terrence Fisher gives The Earth Dies Screaming (EDS) a fairly tight and moody feel, despite the evidently very low budget.

Quick Plot Synopsis
People all over are passing out or dropping dead. Trains, cars and planes crash. Bodies litter the silent streets. A lone American drives through the village. He stops to get a radio and look for food. In an inn, he is confronted by Quinn Taggert, with a gun, and Peggy. Three survivors becomes five with Otis and Violet. They share back stories of being in control-air spaces, so survived gas attack. Young couple drive into town too. Mel and his very pregnant wife Lorna. Alien robots trudge through the streets. Violet runs out to greet them, think it's army clean-up crew. She is touched and killed. Later, as the rest plan where to go in the morning, Violet awakens as a zombie. Taggert shoots her. The group searches the village armory, finding only some hand guns and explosives. Robots seem bulletproof, though. Taggert knocks out Jeff as he stood guard. Taggert takes Peggy to flee north. Peggy escapes him but is almost captured by more zombies and robots. Jeff rescues her and returns to the others. Lorna has her baby. Jeff figures the aliens are using earth radio towers to control the robots. He and Mel triangulate to find it. They set explosives and blow it up just as robots converge on them. Zombie Taggert and robots break into the armory. Just as they are about to get the women and baby, they fall over (because the tower was blown up). Otis shoots zombie Taggert. The six plan to fly south in search of more survivors. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
For a simple, low-budget film, the pacing and mood are good. The 50s vision of a nuclear apocalypse (with aliens as nuke surrogates) was still alive and well in the mid 60s.

Cold War Angle
On the overt level, there is vague talk of "enemies" that would be familiar to people in the Cold War era. On the more subtle level, is the symbolism of an invisible enemy who has agents in the country, turning citizens into "one of them." The loyalists must fight former friends and neighbors.

Notes
Theme Retreads -- The most obvious bit of recycling is the theme from Target Earth ('54) in which a few survivors find themselves alone in a landscape controlled by enemy robots. There is a bit of Day of the Triffids ('63) in having most people stricken by a strange alien force. There is a bit of Last Man on Earth in that most other people are dead, but some of the dead come back as zombies.

Ed Wood: Visionary -- Director Ed Wood Jr. gets ridiculed for his wacky Plan 9 From Outer Space ('59), but was, perhaps, just a bit ahead of his time. He had his aliens animating dead humans, the zombies to aid in the invasion. People laugh, but zombies were becoming box office gold in the 60s. EDS's zombies were well done (the eyes are great), but Ed Wood was there before them.

X-Bots -- The robots in EDS look like tall versions of the little alien in The Man From Planet X ('50). Why robots need space helmets is a bit puzzling. Lippert (the producer) had two robot suits made up. This is better than the producers of Target Earth who had only one robot suit to represent a supposed army of robots. Two robots were more than twice as effective at looking like an invasion force on screen.

Grandpa's Angst -- The presumption of the aliens using a "gas attack" on earth has a curiously anachronistic feel to it. Maybe they didn't use gas, but all the survivors talk of it. This seems to be a durable sensitive nerve in the British psyche, dating back to the early days of World War One. Gas was, then, the new horror weapon. (the nukes of its day) As a weapon, though, gas could not live up to the hype. It was hard to control and undependable. For those reasons, all the combatants (who all tried some gas attacks) gave up on gas as a tactical weapon in a couple years. Yet, the abject fear of gas attack was apparently still alive in the British culture, even almost 50 years later.

Ambiguous Ending -- Jeff and Mel were able to deactivate the alien robots in their local area by toppling the radio mast which the aliens were using to control them. Those controlled by other antennae would continue with whatever they were doing. Jeff is confident that they can stop other robots by similar means. But, the hostile and highly advanced aliens are still out there. Would they always be so easy to thwart? Perhaps the writers were leaving seeds for a sequel, Invasion 2.0.

Bottom line? EDS will disappoint viewers who need fancy special effects. It is, however, a rather well done apocalyptic invasion story, told briskly. It has a very 50s flavor to it, so fans of the golden decade's B films, can appreciate the art.

The Atomic Brain

Yet another low-grade mix of horror and sci-fi, The Atomic Brain (TAB) was the lower half of the bill with The Beach Girls and the Monster. As a drive-in set, the bar was set pretty low to begin with. Even then, TAB is a jumbled mixture of pre-existing tropes, patched together with some pretty blatant exploitation. Yet, buried within all that low-brow pulp fiction approach and low production value, are the kernels of some thought. The work was originally titled "Monstrosity."

Quick Plot Synopsis
Dr. Otto Frank is experimenting in the basement of a mansion. His goal is to transplant brains into different bodies. He robs nearby graves (taking dead pretty women) to experiment on. Most of his experiments have failed. He wants live bodies. His financial backer is a rich old woman. She wants Frank to succeed so she can transplant her brain into the body of a healthy young woman, then have her estate willed to her new self. Three foreign girls are interviewed for a housekeeper's job, but old Ms Marsh is just sizing up their bodies. She rejects the Mexican girl, Anita, because of a birthmark. Dr. Frank uses Anita to test a live brain transplant between her and his cat. This succeeds. Anita-cat catches and eats a mouse. Nina and Bea discover Anita's disappearance, so plan to leave. Bea tries to sweet talk Victor (Mrs. March's gigolo) to get the car keys. While alone in the gardens, Anita-cat scratches out one of Bea's eyes. This clinches Nina as the body replacement. Mrs. March makes the legal arrangements. Nina convinces Victor to help her escape, knowing that his usefulness is ended. Mrs. March discovers his disloyalty and stabs him. Dr. Frank prepares for the final transfer, but also realizes that after it's done, his funding will be gone. He transfers Mrs. March's 'brain' into the cat's body. When Dr. Frank goes into his atomic chamber the March-cat locks him in and turns on the rays. Frank is reduced to a skeleton. In the chaos, Bea awakens. She helps Nina get free. Bea reaches for the jar with her severed eye, but touches high voltage and dies. Nina flees the house just before it is engulfed in flames. She now inherits Mrs. March's wealth. March-cat follows her, thinking to get revenge eventually. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The plot and flood of subplots of TAB are so odd an eclectic, that there is a fascination there. A couple of the plot threads would have made decent movies on their own, in more capable hands. Marjorie Eaton is amusing as the greedy old crone.

Cold War Angle
This was the older dangers-of-science theme, and the traditional noir badness-of-mankind theme. There was little Cold War involved.

Notes
Beyond Frankenstein -- Dr. Frank does what all misguided surgeons have done since Victor Frankenstein: try to transplant human parts to make a better human. Like Victor, he monologued about how he thought his work would be a benefit to mankind. Dr. Frank tries working with dead bodies (as did Victor), using the magical/mythical properties of "atomic power" to reanimate them. This produces only zombies, so he has to work from living specimens. Dr. Frank produces his monsters. Hans the dog-man, Anita the cat-girl, Margie the zombie girl and Mrs.March, the evil cat-woman.

Too Many Cooks? -- TAB is a patchwork of themes and plots. It is part exploitation (scantily-clad young women). It is part sleaze and noir. There is a strain of zombie-horror and a dash of gore-horror. There is just enough sci-fi (with the atomic angle) to qualify for this study. One reason for all this "diversity" may be that the movie had four writers who were also the producer team. Jack Pollexten was the more experienced of the four, with over 20 movies to his credit. None of them were big league, but he did do the screenplay for Captive Women ('52) (originally titled "1000 Years from Now") He also directed The Indestructible Man ('56). It was on that film that he worked with co-writers Sue Dwiggins and Vy Russell. Jack, Sue and Vy added Hollywood outsider Dean Dillman Jr. (more of an investor who insisted on dabbling?). All four are listed as producers (or associates) and writers. This may explain the scattered themes. Pollexten was not credited as a writer (didn't want his name on it?) so he may have aided the other three with technical help rather than content.

New & Improved! -- The trope of installing an existing brain (person) into a fresh new body was particularly new by 1964. In The Brain That Wouldn't Die ('62), Dr. Bill looks for a hot bod onto which he can install his fiancee's head. The Madmen of Mandoras ('63) were presumably looking for a young body onto which to transplant the head/brain of Hitler. In Creation of the Humanoids ('62) people would "save" their consciousness so that upon death, they could be transferred to a fresh new body. A variation on the trope was in She Demons ('58) in which the sinister Dr. Osler was extracting the 'beauty' hormones from young women to restore his wife to beauty. Yet, while TAB was not breaking new ground, it did give the trope a starkly carnal spin. The idea would get spun a few more times in the future too.

Brainless -- Despite the later title, and script use of the word "brain", we don't get to see any brains. In fact, no physical surgery is even implied. A dog's brain might fit into a man's skull, but a woman's brain would not fit inside a cat's skull. Instead, Dr. Frank's magical process seemed to transfer the consciousness of the victims. The writers did not seem troubled by physical facts, but focused on memory-personality as the transferrable element.

Pulp Noir -- Written in the style of cheap pulp detective stories, TAB teems with bad people behaving badly. Mrs. March is the alpha baddie -- greedy and ruthless. Dr. Frank robs graves and does anything to fund his monomaniacal work. Victor is the opportunistic old gigolo with lust for the babes. Bea is a shallow-headed bimbo. Hans is the killer dog-man. Poor Anita becomes the nasty cat-woman. The zombie girl is mild, but, well, dead. Only Nina comes off as not-bad, but a curse of being pursued by the vengeful Mrs.March (as a cat) puts a dark cloud over her too. The lines scripted for the narrator suggest the low-life nature of the characters, such as when Victor learns of the pretty zombie Dr. Frank made, the narrator says "...not having a brain might have its advantages..."

Bottom line? TAB will bother people not tolerant of low-production values. Fans of evil scientist flicks or even noir fans, will have an easier time. The complicated fragments of what could have been interesting stories unto themselves, does make for some entertainment.

Voyage to the End of the Universe

American International Pictures bought the rights the 1963 Czech film Ikarie XB-1. They edited it in some minor ways, dubbed into english and changed the ending to significantly alter the macro-story. Given a new (and somewhat over-lofty) new title, Voyage to the End of the Universe (VEU) was second-feature material and fodder for late night television for decades.

Quick Plot Synopsis
(This is a review of AIP's dubbed version) The movie opens with a deranged crewman of an interstellar space ship. The rest of the crew are trying to reason with him. The story flashes back to before Michael contracted radiation sickness. The Ikarie and its crew have been traveling for months. Their mission is to explore a "green planet" thought to harbor life. Several sub-plots paint the crew as human, for better or worse. A formal dinner & dance party is interrupted by alarms. The Ikarie has encountered a derelict ship. Two men fly over in one of the saucers to investigate. Aboard the derelict, everyone is dead. Scenes of money, gambling and weapons suggest western decadence and belligerence. One of the Ikarie's men accidently triggers a nuclear bomb aboard. They try to escape but do not. The ship blows up. The two deaths exacerbate stresses among the crew. Two other men, Michael and Svensen work outside the Ikarie to install the spare saucer. A mysterious black nebula appears ahead of the Ikaria. The crew develop a sleepy sickness. Some fear doom in going to sleep, but cannot resist. Everyone eventually falls asleep. After a prolonged sleep, they awaken safe. Anthony theorizes that some vague intelligence protected them from radiation of the dark star/nebula. Michael and Svensen, who were outside, show signs of radiation exposure. Michael, delusional about mission failure, barricades himself in a vital part of the ship. (this is where the movie began, so now we're up to real-time) MacDonald gets around the sealed corridors via air shafts. He coaxes Michael to surrender peacefully. The Ikarie approaches the Green Planet. Stephie's baby is born. Everyone is happy. Everyone looks in eager anticipation as they descend on the Green Planet. The clouds part to reveal New York City! (I kid you not) The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The production values and set design have a clear 60s look. VEU has the feel of the original Star Trek series, with diverse (and co-ed) crew of small city-like interstellar ship, exploring new worlds, etc.

Cold War Angle
Downplayed somewhat in AIP's edit, but still evident, is the subtly-delivered dig at The West, aboard the derelict Tornado. The dead are dressed in formal wear (symbolic of capitalist largesse). They died around a gambling table (symbolic of western decadence). The crew apparently shot each other (symbolic of western belligerence). The Tornado was full of nukes (a "western" obsession). The original version was more blatant about the corrupt West.

Notes
The New Ending -- AIP cut many minutes of the original, mostly character development, to shorten run time. They inserted several seconds of stock footage of New York City -- most notably the Statue of Liberty -- at the very end. This completely remade the whole story. In the original, the Ikarie flew from earth to a "White Planet" in the Alpha Centauri system. There, at the end, they see an expansive hyper-modern alien city. We are not alone! In AIP's revision, the crew of the Ikarie turn out to be the aliens. All mention of "earth" is scrupulously avoided. They came to the Green Planet, which turns out to be earth. Given the fragmented script (cuts and dubs), one could be forgiven for thinking that maybe the Ikarie had come from earth only to find themselves back at earth, or maybe at a different time. This doesn't seem to be what AIP intended, however.

From Sub to City -- The space ship Ikarie is a radical departure from the 50s way of imagining space travel. It was not the usual claustrophobic tubular transport that resembled a submarine -- full of pipes and valves, tiny hatches and little ladders. The Ikarie, with its multiple spacious decks, lounge, sick-bay, exercise gym, cafeteria, etc., was really a small city among the stars. It's crew were not confined to mechanized pressure-suits and helmets, strapped into padded chairs. They wore shirts & pants (or frilly dresses), danced to avant gard "music", etc. The Ikaria, with it's near-light engines, was capable of more than solar-system travel. In this sense, the Ikarie was the first modern (60s and later) star ships. Yes, the star cruiser N-57D was similar in range, back in 1956. It was a military craft that still had that submarine feel -- more of a small naval frigate than a cruise ship.

Pre-2001 -- Stanley Kubrick is said to have had "Voyage to the End of the Universe" as a working title for his space epic, later titled, 2001: A Space Odyssey. VEU was out soon enough to have been an influence. There are a few affinities between VEU and 2001, but just as many divergences.

Kumbyah -- A subtle message that still survived AIP's dub, is that if we all just play nice and get along, mankind could really go places. Viewers will note the lack of fist fights or treachery. Disagreements might get voices raised a bit, but in the end, authority is respected. Even the deranged Michael is dealt with gently and humanely as his friend coaxes him into surrendering. Their reward for all this trust and civility, is getting to visit our space neighbors (quietly assumed to be equally benevolent). This alien-optimism was common in Soviet-block sci-fi. Recall the aliens in A Dream Come True or Planeta Bur.

Deadly Century -- Less clear in the AIP version, but more clear in the original, is the traditional cautionary moral wrapped up in the derelict ship Tornado. In the original, it is from earth, in the year 1987. In AIP's edit, it is from "their" world about 300 years earlier. In the original film, there were canisters of a deadly gas nicknamed "Tigger Fun". It was "the so-called clean weapon from the end of the 20th century." When the Tornado was running low on air, the military men in command used Tigger Fun to kill the others so as to save the remaining air for themselves. When that ran low, they then fought each other. "Vultures," mutters Erik. These clear anti-western bits were edited out via the english dub.

Little John -- The robot in VEU seems like an attempt to include a high-tech element. Where the robot "John" was a major player in Planeta Bur, or "Omega" in Der Schweigende Stern (First Space Ship on Venus). They were the Eastern Block's answer to Robby in Forbidden Planet, Anthony's robot "Patrick" is neither more intelligent nor strong. In fact, Anthony has to control him with a remote control. Patrick comes off as a large toy, not a modern techno-wonder.

Midlin' Models -- There is extensive use of models in Ikarie. They aren't too bad for detail and have a "modern" 60s look to them. No big-fin cigar shaped rockets. The action with the models is clearly not as skilled as Toho Studios. The look obviously suspended by wires.

Loose End Ending -- In the original Ikarie, the mysterious force that protected the crew is inferred to have come from the advanced civilization on the "White Planet." AIP's re-edit has the Ikarie come from some other planet, to earth -- the "Green Planet." All well and good, but where did this protective force come from? The New York City shown in the aerial clips is clearly a vintage 1950s or 60s city. Were the AIP editors inferring that there is some vague benevolent (and powerful) intelligence floating near Earth? Perhaps something divine, as Anthony suggests in the original?

Bottom line? AIP's edits make VEU a bit disjointed at times, but it is still a watchable movie with a decidedly Star Trek feel to it. The re-release of the original Czech version (with subtitles) is a higher quality print. Though longer, and a bit dialogue-heavy, has a smoother story line.

First Men in the Moon

1964 was a better year for sci-fi and Columbia's First Men in the Moon (FMM) was the year's big-budget treat. HG Wells' 1899 novel was adapted to a more modern retelling by Nigel Kneal (of Quatermass fame), but is still fairly faithful to the original. Two men (and a woman) travel to the moon in 1899 and encounter a civilization of insect-like beings. FMM also features the animation of Ray Harryhausen. He gives the usual monster (moon cows), but brings the selenites to life.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A modern (1960s) UN moon mission lands, only to discover a little British flag and a paper claiming the moon for Queen Victoria. On earth, they trace the names to an old Arnold Bedford in a nursing home. He tells his story as flashback. He rented a cottage next door to an eccentric inventor. Cavor created Cavorite, a substance which blocks gravity. Bedford sees the money-making potential, so attaches himself to the work. Cavor, however, wants to explore the moon. To that end, he built a sphere. Bedford agrees to go with him, thinking of gold on the moon. Bedford's fiancee, Kate, is pulled aboard at the last minute. Amid some mild antics en route, they arrive on the moon. Cavor and Bedford explore, finding a labyrinth of tunnels and little insect people. They return to the surface, but the sphere (with Kate inside) has been taken by the selenites. They re-enter the tunnels in search, but become separated when a giant "moon cow" caterpillar beast attacks them. The selenite scientists study Cavor and Kate, eventually learning english. The selenites are disassembling the sphere for study. Cavor is given an audience with the Grand Lunar. He tells the Grand Lunar about earth and men. Cavor's description of war alarms the Grand Lunar, who decrees that Cavor must remain on the moon to prevent more defective earthmen make the trip. Meanwhile, Bedford and Kate have reassembled the sphere, but need Cavor to get the shutters to work. Bedford interrupts the Grand Lunar audience, causing a fight. Cavor and Bedford flee to the sphere. Cavor fixes it, but refuses to return to earth. Bedford and Kate return. End flashback. Old Bedford sums up his tale. TV reports that the astronauts on the moon find abandoned underground cities. Quick conjecture is that some virus wiped out the inhabitants. Bedford quips that Cavor did have a bad cold. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
There is much to like in FMM. Lionel Jeffries almost steals the show with his highly colorful portrayal of Cavor. The matt art, scenery, sets and models are well done. Harryhausen's work doesn't dominate, but enhances the alien-world feel.

Cold War Angle
There is more of Wells' original anti-imperialism message than anything of the Cold War. The portrayed fact that the first moon landing was an international effort shows a bit of optimism.

Notes
Based on the Book -- Nigel Kneal's screenplay tries to maintain much of Wells' original story, but a few concessions had to be made to make a good movie for mid-60s audiences. Rather than modernize the tale, Kneal framed the Victorian story as a flashback within modern bookends. Kneal omitted the frozen atmosphere and fungal plant life, (as modern audiences would not buy that). He kept a simplified version of the selenite civilization, and the moon cows. He also kept Bedford returning and Cavor remaining.

Dipping From Other Wells -- Kneal's script pulls in elements from a couple of Wells' other stories. He repeats the trope of the aliens taking the protagonist's machine underground, which Wells had in The Time Machine. Kneal borrows from Wells' War of the Worlds to have the aliens all killed off by a simple earth germ. In Wells' novel, the selenites are not wiped out. Modern folk knew the moon was lifeless, so a handy plague was needed.

Labor Pains -- Embedded in Wells' novel, and echoed somewhat in Kneal's screenplay, was stratified, dehumanizing industrial society. A cute counterfoil to that and commentary on unionized culture, was the scene at Cavor's house where the three workers argue about whose job it was to stoke the furnace. The metal worker complained that since he wasn't a stoker (by profession), it therefore wasn't his job. The gardener agreed that he wasn't a stoker either. The butler also agreed that he was a butler, not a stoker, so none of them stoked, but all went out for a pint.

Imperialist Flip-side -- In Wells' War of the Words, imperialist humans get a taste of their own medicine from the über-imperialist Martians. In FFM, imperialist humans go to someone else's planet. In both the novel and the screenplay, the two protagonists embody classic British imperialism. Cavor is the benevolent explorer, missionary and claimer of places. Bedford is the exploiter capitalist, who puts little value on the lives of the "brownies". This condensed duo of earth-ish imperialism plops down amid a greater power. Cavor and Bedford play out the traditional arguments (benevolence vs. conquest) but Bedford's view prevails and he goes about smashing their cities. In Kneal's script, imperialist man manages to completely ruins things -- even if only by accident (Cavor's cold germs). This has several earth history parallels too.

Intrusive Women -- It was fairly common in 19th century sci-fi (e.g. Wells and Verne) to have only men as the protagonists. Post-WWII Hollywood was unable to resist inserting a woman into the character mix. They usually served as simple cheesecake, or love-triangle fodder, or the damel to be rescued. In FFM, Kate is a bit less flagrantly the intruded woman. She is useful to keep up dialogue while Cavor and Bedford are separated. She is a occasionally the damsel, but not obnoxiously so. (Heck, she blasts some selenites with a shotgun). We can be thankful the producers resisted including a cute animal in Disney fashion.

Bottom line? FMM is a classic that no one should miss -- even viewers who don't normally go in for sci-fi. The story is thoughtful, the acting good, and the production very good.

The Time Travelers

Ib Melchior, who brought us Angry Red Planet ('60), Journey to the Seventh Planet ('62) and helped adapt Defoe's novel to give us Robinson Crusoe on Mars ('64) was both writer and director of another imaginative film: The Time Travelers (TTT). It repackaged some familiar tropes and traditional themes but gave them a mid-60s flavor. A team of scientists accidentally travel to earth's future to find it post-apocalyptic ruin.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Dr. Erik von Steiner, Steve and Carol are working on a time camera in a university lab. They want to get images from the past and future. Technician Danny watches. The time camera keeps not quite working, so Steve cranks up the juice. Sparks and smoke fly. The image is a rocky wasteland 107 years in the future. Danny discovers that it's actually a time portal. They all go through and are quickly chased by a band of tall mutant men. They flee into a canyon, then a cave. There, they are saved by advanced people with androids. Earth had a nuclear war that wiped out everything. Only bands of mutants remain. Supplies are limited in the caves, so Dr. Varno's people have built a rocket to take them to New Earth (Alpha Centauri 4). Several scenes depict the wonders of technology. The four time travelers cannot come, for lack of supplies and room. They build another time portal machine as best they can remember. Just before the rocket is to blast off, the mutants attack en mass. Despite crowded fights in the tunnels, the mutants are winning. The rocket catches fire, falls and explodes. Holed up in the time portal room, Steve fires up their new portal. They see the university campus on screen. The mutants break into the portal room. Another pitched battle rages. Many people flee through the portal, then close it behind them. On the campus, they find they're in a frozen moment of time just before the original portal machine sparked. The screen is black and dial set for 100,000 years in the future. They all climb through. The scene brightens. Our 13 time-refugees stroll in a peaceful looking sun lit field and trees. Meanwhile, back in the university lab, the story resumes as it began. A video montage of clips quickly retells the story, then repeats faster and faster until the images blur together and dissolve over a photo of a galaxy. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Time travel movies are inherently more thought-provoking. TTT is no exception. The acting is respectable and action plentiful enough to keep interest up. The special effects are pretty good for a limited budget, sometimes taking on the feel of stage magic.

Cold War Angle
TTT contains a blatant and familiar Cold War message: Nuclear war will ruin the earth. To explain the earth of 2071, Dr. Varno plays some stock footage of 1950s nuclear tests and destruction. His somewhat florid homily is the film's cautionary message. "Earth is now just a burnt out sterile slag in space. The last generation mutated -- once humans --, the offspring of the radiation saturated survivors, roam the desolate surface, possessed by the insanity of crippling deformities of mind and body. When they are gone, earth will be lifeless, and incapable of sustaining life, as the barren moon itself."

Notes
BunkerVision -- It had become received canon that a post-nuclear world would have a remnant of normal people survive underground. Those on the surface would become mutants. World Without End ('56) was about some people from the mid-20th-century who travel to an earth in the future. That post-apocalyptic future has the "normal" people surviving underground and the surface roamed by brutal mutants. This trope appeared early on in 1000 Years From Now (or "Captive Women") ('52) in which the normals lived underground the the mutants on the surface. This was also a feature in Beyond the Time Barrier ('60) -- normals below, mutants above.

Freeze Frame -- A notable feature in TTT was time could be different for people in the same space. Our intrepid survivors get back to the university, only to find everyone frozen in a moment, or at least moving very very slowly. This asynchronisity makes the new people invisible to the frozen people. Also of interest was that the "fast" people could not affect matter in the slow time. Objects were frozen and immovable to them. Ib Melchior wrote this trope into another time-warp screenplay for the series Outer Limits. The episode The Premonition (January 1965) featured a test pilot and his wife who became frozen in a 10 second bit of time. They could move no objects there, but fashioned a way to save their daughter from being struck by a runaway truck, by using the seatbelts from her car (which was apparently taken into the time warp with them). The interesting thought in all this, is that someone can visit the past, but would be asynchronous with it, so could not change it anyhow. Erik, Steve and Carol could not prevent the nuclear war.

Fertile Seeds -- The concept of a re-creatable time portal had enough legs to spawn repeats. Journey to the Center of Time ('67) would come from co-writer of TTT, David Hewlitt. It will be a repeat of the trope. The 1966 TV series Time Tunnel would serialize the historical adventures possible with such a portal. Even such later TV shows as Stargate SG-1 would revisit the handy notion of a time portal. It's just too handy of a trope to not re-use.

Android Fascination -- Much run-time is devoted to a fascination with building the androids. The gee-whiz nature of the androids almost competes for the role of the purpose of the story. Even the fight scenes devote special attention to damaged androids fighting on or one long segment in which an android burns to a charred frame.

The Future is Groovy -- the future envisioned in sci-fi was becoming more 60s flavored. Note the segment in which Reena (in short floofy skirt and tall white boots), gyrates as she plays electro-techno music on the multi-colored Lumichord. Of course it helps that Delores Wells was Playmate of the Month, June 1960. The imagined future was taking on more of a mood of sensual abandon. Very 60s, Very groovy.

Bottom line? TTT is a cut above the usual B-grade sci-fi. It is one of American International Pictures' better efforts. It is not well known, but for fans of the genre, is well worth the effort to find and watch.