1955

The middle year of the decade saw a few enduring classics, but mostly obscure B-movies. Producers found that there was a market for low-budget B grade sci-fi. Matinee or drive-in fodder, especially for double features, B-grade sci-fi didn't have to be too fancy to be entertaining. It wasn't a year of innovation, so much as it was a year of repeating already-successful plot formulae. Here are 1955's sci-fi movies in chronological order:

Conquest of Space -- is George Pal's almost-epic tale of a realistic vision of a future trip to Mars.

Revenge of the Creature -- is the sequel to the popular "Creature from the Black Lagoon". Here, gill man is brought to Florida and pretty much repeats the first movie's plot.

This Island Earth -- is a sci-fi classic. It's an intriguing tale of aliens who try to recruit earth's nuclear scientists to help them stave off interstellar defeat.

King Dinosaur -- is an ultra-low-budget movie about an earth expedition finding "dinosaurs" on a rogue planet.

The Quatermass Xperiment -- is actually a fairly well done British film about an amorphous creature from space which comes to earth in an astronaut.

Beast With a Million Eyes -- an incorporeal alien who feeds on fear, causes animals to attack people, but love triumphs. Very low-budget.

It Came From Beneath The Sea -- is a classic Ray Harryhausen stop-motion animation monster movie about a giant octopus which terrorizes San Francisco.

The Creature With the Atomic Brain -- is a low-budget, but somewhat innovative zombie film. A vengeful mobster uses electronically re-animated dead people to extract his revenge.

Tarantula -- amounts to another installment in the giant bug sub-genre begun by Them! in '54. A mad scientist looking for synthetic food creates giant animals. His tarantula escapes and terrorizes.

Godzilla Raids Again -- is Toho's sequel to Godzilla. Here, he battles another dinosaur-thing, laying waste to Osaka in the process.

Day the World Ended -- is a post-apocolyptic tale of seven people who survive in a sheltered valley. Radiation-spawned mutations lurk in the shadows.

Phantom from 10,000 Fathoms -- is a very cheap recast of the Godzilla theme, but with a human-sized rubber suit monster.

Bride of the Monster -- is an ultra-low-budget crossover sci-fi / horror flick. Only Bela Lugosi, in his last speaking movie, saves it from the dumpster of total humiliation.

Beast With a Million Eyes

Beast (BWME) was born more of desire for a quick buck than artistic vision. Promoters tried to pre-sell a B-movie with little more than a concept and a poster. The poster (seen at left) featured quite a hideous monster face menacing a screaming young beauty clad in lingerie. That was the stock formula that sold B-movie tickets. There was sufficient investor interest to proceed. Trouble was, the actual script (originally entitled Unseen) was about a (mostly) incorporeal alien who possesses animals to do his bidding (hence the metaphor of the million eyes). Distributors and audiences were understandably disappointed when the movie had nothing to do with the poster. Truth be told, BWME is a very low budget B-movie, but it's not without some points of interest -- if you can get over the poster. It tries to be a more thoughtful, almost 'art' film, even though executed in a somewhat ham-handed way.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A voiceover at the beginning (supposed to be the alien) tells us that he's coming to earth, that he feeds on fear and will use animals and people to be his eyes and ears."I see your most secret acts...you will know me as the beast with a million eyes." Cut to a date palm farm in the California desert, where a man, wife and teenaged daughter live a not-too-happy life. They have a large simple-minded mute man as farm hand. A high-pitched squeal of something flying overhead breaks all the glass in their house. Animals change, eventually. A flock of birds attacks the dad. The family dog turns on the mom. A docile cow attacks and kills the neighbor farmer, then comes after the mom. Dad shoots it just in time. The already creepy hired hand (whom the women simply call "Him", but is named Carl) is clearly being directed by the alien. He knocks out the local sheriff and then carries off the daughter. Dad, mom and sheriff arrive in time to stop Him from delivering unconscious daughter to the alien (in a small silvery 'ship' in a crater in the desert). Even though Carl dies, listening to the pleas of his friend, the dad, and not the alien, the unseen alien isn't through. He has the daughter in trance/coma and threatens to cause her great pain if the mom and dad don't surrender her to him. They refuse and argue (with the voice-over mind-to-mind communications) that love is stronger than hate. When they confront the alien at his ship, the little beast he's living in dies, but the ship takes off anyway, preprogrammed. The alien's evil spirit is implied to then jump to a desert rat nearby. An eagle swoops down and snatches the rat away. Sunrise, and everyone looks skyward arm in arm. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
Admittedly, this is a movie that only an ardent 50s sci-fi fan will like. There are too many faults and shortcomings for a lot of people to overlook. That said, there are still some points of interest, if you look for them. (see Notes section)

Cold War Angle
Only on a metaphorical level is there any hit of the Cold War. The original notion of some hostile someone using hate and fear, "possessing" people, to do his bidding, does smack of American angst over communist infiltrators. They'll use fear to divide and conquer.

Notes
It's a Metaphor, Deal With It -- Quite a few viewers, then and now, think it's a major goof in the movie that the final monster (and it's a small one) has only two eyes. Right in the opening narration we're told that the alien will use the eyes and ears of animals and people to see everything. That's the million eyes. After seeing the multi-eyed monster in the poster, people expected a literal multi-eyed beast. It was a metaphor cooked up by marketing types who thought the original title, The Unseen wasn't grabby enough.

Early Birds -- The scenes of the flock of birds attacking Alan, the father, prefigures Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) by many years. The scene inside the farm house, with all the squawking, fluttering and pecking outside, and daughter Sandy going nuts inside the claustrophobic house, is too similar to Hitchcock's movie to not notice.

Marketers as Marginal Movie Men -- BWME might have been a bit better (though still a low-budget B movie) if the marketing men hadn't tried to impose themselves. Firstly, they "sold" a standard ugly-monster-menaces-babe product, which BWME wasn't. Disappointed audiences were too miffed to see the movie for what it was supposed to be. Secondly, the opening narration, the "alien" tells us he's the 'beast with a million eyes. Obviously intended to tie the movie to the poster, this narration gives too much of the story away. It's an honored marketing maxim, Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em. Tell 'em, then tell 'em what you told 'em. BWME does this to annoying degrees. Imagine BWME without that opening narration. Viewers would wonder what the whine was. They'd wonder why the birds attacked and why Duke turns on his masters. There'd be more mystery. As it stands, BWME comes across like a movie we've already seen before, even before we've seen it.

Star Watch -- Paul Birch, who plays the father, Alan, also played the embattled father with a young woman daughter, in Day the World Ended. Also look for a very young Dick Sargent playing Larry the sheriff. Sargent would later gain fame as the "second" Darrin Stephens in the 60s & 70s sitcom Bewitched (the first being Dick York)

Out of Their Minds -- BWME is in the sub-genre of alien mind-takeover movies. We saw this at the outset of the decade in The Man from Planet X ('51), followed by many others. There would be many more after BWME. The trope of something 'alien' taking control of regular folks (usually to do bad things) was apparently intriguing to both writers and audiences in the 50s.

Feed the Fear -- A minor interesting point in BWME is the idea of an alien feeding (nutritionally speaking) on hate and fear. This is true, metaphorically, of people who benefit from the fear of others: politicians, mobsters, anti-virus software makers, etc., the notion of fear as nutrient is fairly new (in '55). It's an idea that would resurface in later years too, in Star Trek episodes and even as recently as the Stargate SG-1 series -- with the Ori.

Love Is All Ya Need -- The plot device that has some humble feature of earth being the defeat of an alien invasion was already not new by 1955. H.G. Wells had the humble germ defeat the martians even back in 1898. Here, to an alien who "feeds" on hate and fear, it's human love and loyalty that defeats and actually kills him. Talk about tough love. The overall moral of the movie is about being understanding and forgiving instead of judgmental and afraid. A bit lofty for B-sci-fi.

Bottom line? Unless you're a fan of low-budget 50s sci-fi, BWME will disappoint you. It tries to be more artsy and even somewhat sentimental, but cannot live up to it's suggested monster-meances-babe hype. Taken as a low-budget sci-fi "art" drama, it's actually not that bad. It's just NOT a monster movie.

Bride of the Monster

This is Ed Wood Jr's first "sci-fi / horror" film. Wood is often cited as the epitome of cheesy, low-low-low-budget B-movie directors. Here, he was writer, producer and director -- not often a formula for success. This film is not as famous (or infamous) as his later work Plan 9 From Outer Space. In several ways, Bride of the Monster (BOTM) is actually a better (less incoherent) movie. BOTM is still a very low-budget film, and it shows. Still, despite its many shortcomings, there are some items of interest to fans of 50s B-movie sci-fi.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A monster is rumored to live in Lake Marsh, because several people have gone missing around the lake. Two hunters seek shelter in the supposedly abandoned Willows Place, but it is occupied by a rude scientist (Bela Lugosi) who summons his mute "giant" Lobo (Tor Johnson) to chase them off. A giant octopus in the lake gets one of them. Lobo captures the other. Dr. Vornoff (Lugosi) experiments on him, using an atomic ray to turn him into a giant with super strength, or kill him. It kills him. The police have no solid clues to solve the mystery. A brash female reporter named Janet wants to investigate, but her police lieutenant boyfriend doesn't want her poking around the spooky lake. She does anyway and gets a flat tire while in the swamp. A large snake makes her swoon. Lobo finds her and takes her to the Willows Place. Vornoff wants to experiment on her. A Vladimir Strowski comes to Willows looking for Vornoff, trying to encourage him to return to the mother country and continue his research. Vornoff refuses. Strowski pulls a gun on him to force him to go, but Lobo subdues Strowski and is then fed to the giant octopus. Vornoff has Janet strapped to the table. Her boyfriend interrupts, but Lobo subdues him too. He's chained up instead of being octo-food. Lobo, smitten with Janet, won't let Vornoff proceed. He attacks Vornoff and frees Janet. Lobo then puts Vornoff on the table and turns on the machines. The process works this time. Vornoff is now taller and super strong. He subdues Lobo and carries Janet off into the swampy night. The police pursue, but atomic-Vornoff is invulnerable to bullets. Finally a boulder rolled down a hill bumps Vornoff into the lake where the octopus gets him. Lightening then strikes the octopus, causing it to blow up in a mushroom cloud. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
Despite being a candidate for the so-bad-it's-good category, BOTM has several interesting facets and loose ends. They're listed in the Notes section. It's also full of random bits which make no sense, such as the police captain playing with his pet parakeet. This was Bela Lugosi's final starring (speaking) film. That alone makes it interesting. His "I have no home," speech is rather deep for a cheap movie.

Cold War Angle
There is some customary moralizing about man tampering with things atomic, but the most overt Cold War theme is the implication that Soviet Russia wants Vornoff to return and create a race of super giants with which to take over the world. Since giants are created with "atomic rays" the allegory to Soviet A-bombs is pretty clear.

Notes
Which Monster -- The dialogue leads viewers to imagine that the big octopus in the lake is the "monster". The poster and how atomic-Vornoff is carrying away Janet (the bride) points to Vornoff as the real "monster" in a more metaphoric sense.

Soviets as Neo-Nazis -- With names like Vornoff and Strowski, it's clear that the unnamed country which wanted the atomic-giants so it could rule the world, was obviously Russia. What's interesting is how Vornoff and Strowski use language evocative of the Nazis. They talk of their atomic giants as a "master race" with which to rule the world. The stereotypic Nazi dream was transferred to the Soviets -- the new arch villain.

Bela Twilight -- BOTM was Bela Lugosi's last speaking role. He became legendary for his role as Count Dracula in 1931. His name on the marquee assured an audience. Woods might be thought of as exploiting the old man's name. On the other hand, Woods gave Lugosi (visibly old and sickly) a starring role with some dignity. He gets to be the spurned (evil) genius who would rule the world with his army of atomic giants. Even though 74 years old and sick, Lugosi is still the star. Woods tried to make another movie in 1956 that also gave Lugosi some work, but only a few clips were shot. Lugosi died of a heart attack in August of '56. Woods saved the clips and used them in his famous Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Tor Rising -- BOTM begins the typecasting of former swedish wrestler, Tor Johnson, as the hulking beast. His "trademark" pose, bald head, grunting mouth agape, arms outstretched before him, would be used as-is in several films. The "Lobo" character himself would appear in several low-budget horror films of the late 50s. He would play the zombie hulk again in Woods' 1959 Plan 9 and later in The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) -- Tor's last film.

They're After Our Women -- BOTM delivers on the poster's promise. The real monster, Vornoff, does want the young woman 'that way' and does carry her off in his arms. This the classic abduction scene.

Beauty and the Beast -- The hulking Lobo character is charmed by Janet. The stirred emotions in Lobo (simple beast that he was) proved stronger than whatever fear or loyalty he felt towards Vornoff. In the end, Lobo turns on Vornoff in order to save Janet. A beautiful young woman is a powerful force of nature.

Spotlight on Morality -- To jaded 21st century eyes and ears, the notion of there being a "bride" for the monster is an interesting glimpse at the morality of the 50s. Back then, young women were married before being 'known' (in the biblical sense). Vornoff wants Janet, but can't simply have her. Woods has her dressed in a long white lacy gown (wedding dress) to underscore the marriage element. From a basic, more tribal perspective, marriage to an outsider removed a girl from the tribe. Simply being "used" did not. In the 50s, marriage had a connotation of permanence.

Bottom line? BOTM is so low-budget that it's sure to annoy most movie watchers. However, for those who can see past the flaws, there are entertaining nuggets that make it worth watching. If you can, find a copy that is not the MST3K version. That version is annoying.

Phantom from 10,000 leagues

This is another of the atomic-monster genre, which, coming at the end of 1955, was not particularly new. Them ('54) had kicked off the sub-genre of monsters created by radiation. Beast from 20,000 Fathoms ('53) began the sub-genre of the already-existing "monster" being released by nuclear activity. Creature from the Black Lagoon ('54) was the debut of man-sized rubber suit monsters. Phantom of 10,000 Leagues, (P10K) is a weak coat-tailer of Black Lagoon, but added little. What it did was combine the radiation-spawned monster with the man-sized rubber suit monster sub-genres.

P10K is typical of low grade B-movies in having adequate, but unremarkable acting, minimal sets and minimal effects. The plot does not venture very far at all into the science part of science fiction. What little explanation is offered goes by too quickly. Instead, it's more of a murder mystery with vague spy story undertones. The inspectors inspect clues and suspect suspects to solve the murders. This, and a rather plodding pace, make P10K a weak example of sci-fi, but passable as a mystery story.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A fisherman is pulled under by a mutant beast. He washes ashore, dead of radiation burns. A Dr. Stevens and a Mr. Grant, a government investigator are seeking answers. A Professor King recently set up his Pacific College of Oceanography. It turns out that the professor had "activated" a uranium deposit on the sea floor in hopes of creating a "death ray" with the heavy water. The professor's assistant is after the secret of the professor's work. Dr. Stevens and the professor's daughter, Lois, start up the obligatory romance thread. When a freighter travels over the radiation beam and is destroyed, the deaths prove too much for the professor's morals. He resolves to fix matters. He rows out to sea and scuba dives to the uranium deposit and "phantom" with some dynamite. He blows up the deposit, the monster and himself. His terrible weapon secrets died with him. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The monster plays into the story very little, actually. As a murder mystery story, P10K has a little merit. The mysterious professor, the suspicious assistant. Even Dr. Stevens seems shifty at times. The murder-mystery plot is complex enough to keep a little interest. The stereotypes are interesting to track. (see Good Girl / Bad Girl below)

For so-bad-it's-fun action, it is fun to see how there's never anyone on the beaches but the actors. Everyone rows out to the monster spot in a small row boat -- just the right size for tipping over. The phantom isn't very phantasmic. What seems naggingly obvious, is that despite the title, all the underwater action takes place at a depth of only 10 or 20 feet. Scuba diving had some public fascination in the mid 50s, so it only took a little underwater filming to captivate audiences. While not a genre starter, P10K is one of the early man-in-rubber-suit monster flicks.

Cold War Angle
P10K is more of a cautionary tale about atomic power and dangers, than it is about the Cold War specifically. There is a shadowy "them" which send the spies, George and Wanda, to uncover the professor's secrets. "They" are never named. The fact that the project was a super-weapon vaguely hints that it was a competitor nation, though this is never developed. 50s audiences already knew who "they" were.

Notes
Cautionary Monster -- As would become more commonplace, P10K is one of those stories intended to warn people about the dangers of atomic energy. As much as we might want it for a weapon, its dangers might get us too. The "monster" itself is a personification of radiation. It kills when you get near it. At the end, the customary moralizing moment, Lois says, "I knew he wanted this power to help humanity, not destroy it." Dr. Stevens responds, "Nature has many secrets which were not meant to be understood. That's why he took his secret with him."

A Little Cheesecake -- There are a couple scenes which do nothing to advance the plot, but appear to be thrown in simply for exploitive motives. One such scene has Lois in the shower, her suggestive silhouette on the shower curtain. This is followed by a few dressed-in-towel views until Dr. Stevens helps her get into her tight-fitting dress. Pointless, but probably perked up the young men in the theater. A second serving comes when George meets platinum blonde Wanda on the beach. She lounges, pin-up style in her frilly strapless bathing suit. The camera views are optimal for showing off her feminine charms, but do nothing for the plot. They're just a couple random servings of cheesecake.

Good Girl / Bad Girl -- Lois, the professor's daughter, is clearly the "good girl". She's the loving daughter. She's the single and available young beauty who apparently has nothing whatsoever to do but lounge on the beach or on the patio. Wanda, on the other hand, is just as clearly the "bad girl." She has floozie platinum blonde hair and swaggering attitude. She's apparently "been around" and unstable in relationships. She's a tool of the mysterious "them."

Shadow of Godzilla -- A few parallels to Godzilla stand out. One, the creature is T-Rex-ish, like Godzilla (though man sized, not 100' tall). Two, the creature was spawned/awakened by radiations -- weapons research. Three is the deadly atomic beam which sinks the ship. Very Godzilla-like. A fourth similarity is how the genius scientist must give his life to stop the monster.

They're NOT after our women -- The poster shows a larger monster grabbing a woman diver by the thighs and staring at her chest. Thankfully, no such scene appears in the P10K. The creature grabs the professor when he goes down with the dynamite, but no women.

Poor Naive Professor -- Professor King plays the typical (almost cliche) role of the naive (misguided) scientist. He "activates" an undersea uranium deposit, which produces a powerful beam. This could be a super-weapon (a fact not lost on the two spies). As his daughter Lois says at the end, however, "I knew he wanted this power to help humanity, not destroy it." Professor King, like many naive scientists, gives his life (tragic hero style) to stop his monstrous creation.

Bottom line? P10K is a lower B grade of sci-fi that follows customary plot threads. It will likely anger or frustrate viewers looking for thoughtful (or active) entertainment. For nerdy fans of 50s sci-fi, however, the stereotypes themselves are kind of fun to watch.

Day the World Ended

This post-apocolyptic tale was director Roger Corman's first sci-fi movie. While post-nuclear-war movies would become common over the years, in 1955, they were still comparatively new. A few others looked at a post-nuclear world or a post-global destruction world. Only Five ('51) looked at a small group of survivors in the days immediately after a nuclear war wiped out everyone else on earth. Day the World Ended (DWE) is the tale of an ad hoc group of survivors in a tiny oasis of the old world, surrounded by the horrors of the new. The "world" which ended was not the planet (obviously) but world we (in the 50s) knew.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The story opens with some heavy-handed narration and stock footage of the Bikini Atoll test. Through the ground fog, a few survivors stumble upon Jim Maddson's house sheltered in a steep valley. He and Louise, his daughter, are joined by Tony (the hood), Ruby (Tony's girlfriend and burlesque dancer), Rick (the geologist), Pete (the prospector) and Radick (the radiated businessman). Jim had only planned enough supplies for three, not seven. Tensions immediately begin between Jim, Rick and Tony. A rivalry develops between Rick and Tony over Louise. Radick is changing into a 'new' atomic man which needs raw meat to eat. First Louise, and then the others, become aware of a stranger (a mutant) stalking the valley. Radick steals Pete's burro in order kill it and eat raw meat, but he himself is killed by the strange clawed mutant. Pete, despondent, goes over the crest, into the deadly fog and dies. Jim tries to stop him, but only gets a lethal dose of radiation. Meanwhile, Ruby argues with Tony about his fixation on Louise. She pulls a knife on him, but in the struggle, Ruby is killed. That night, the creature "calls" to Louise. She leaves the house and the creature carries her off. She awakens from the 'trance', screams and splashes into the pond. The creature won't follow. Jim arrives with a big rifle, but the creature cannot be shot. Rain comes, however, and subdues the creature. The clean rain water is proof that the world is healing itself. Meanwhile, back in the house, Tony takes sick Jim's gun and plans to kill Rick so he can have Louise. Jim had a hidden gun and shoots Tony dead. Rick and Louise arrive just before Jim expires of radiation sickness. He gives them his blessing, then dies. They trudge off over the ridge, like honeymooning hikers. The big words "The Beginning" flash on the screen. (The End)

Why is this movie fun?
Where Five was thoughtful and artistic, DWE touches on more of the fear people felt in the nuclear angst age. You didn't just die, you turned into an ugly mutant. The acting is pretty good for a low-budget film, and Corman does a good job of keeping the mood tense and claustrophobic.

Cold War Angle
DWE is a classic of the Cold War angst mindset. It depicts the nightmare vision of what would happen if the Cold War ever erupted into a global nuclear war. There's no nationalist finger pointing. The nuclear destruction and contamination are just given facts. The movie opens with these words on screen, "What you are about to see may never happen...but to this anxious age in which we live, it presents a fearsome warning..."

Notes
Good Guy / Bad Guy -- Like Five ('51), and Invasion USA ('52), and others, DWE uses a small group, (seven people) as a lens on society. In this case, we have pairs of opposites. Jim, the father, is authority and order, Tony, the hood, is lawlessness. Rick, the geologist and Tony, are distilled opposites of the American male. Rick is brave, virile and heroic. Tony is selfish, rude and arrogant.

Good Girl / Bad Girl -- Louise is a quick distillation 50s vision of what the idealized young woman should be. She's young, pretty, trim and blonde, but she's no air-head. Louise is courageous and compassionate. Louise is the "good girl" which fathers hoped their sons would find for brides. Ruby, on the other hand, is an over-the-hill striptease dancer who smokes and drinks and is implied to have led a loose life. Ruby is cast somewhat more sympathetic Tony was, but she's not what fathers wanted their sons to bring home.

Thin the Herd -- Purge society of its undesirables? It's a very old notion. God wiped out all the wicked undesirables in the great flood, saving only Noah and his family (and the animals, of course). At one point, Jim even says to Rick that his little valley is like Noah's Ark. Radick, representing the business world, was lost from the beginning. Tony kills Ruby, and then is killed himself. Only the idealized "good" people (Rick and Louise) emerge as the post-nuclear Adam and Eve. In this, there's actually a sort of eugenicist's dark optimism that a global nuclear war could be "good" for mankind. It'll thin the herd of undesirables, leaving only the young, blonde and buff.

Rubber Monster -- Paul Blaisdell created the mutant monster costume, mostly out of foam rubber. Blaisdell had a brief, but active, stint as a sci-fi monster maker. He worked cheap, which is why Corman liked him. The mutant doesn't hold up well in extended viewing. The monster's appearance was already revealed on the poster (no mystery there), but Corman limited his camera time for most of the movie, to shadows or glimpses. He erred in letting us see too much towards the end. When we do get a good look, it's predictably disappointing -- like a sculpture of an illustration. Corman would repeat this error in some of his later movies too. Most notably, It Conquered the World ('56).

Love Conquers All -- Love is stronger than even massive mutation. A recurring trope in sci-fi (and horror genre) is humanity lingering within the monster. In DWE, this is seen in the mutant 'calling' to, and then carrying off (not eating) Louise. We're left to presume that the mutant was actually her fiance, Tommy. Despite the radiation turning men into savage flesh eating monsters, a kernel of loving Tommy was stronger.

Divine Judgement? -- A fairly common notion in 50s (and 60s) American christendom was that God might use a global nuclear holocaust to end the current age. A narrator quotes a commonly cited Bible verse used to support that view: 2 Peter 3:12. "...of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat..." Escatologically, this is pretty shaky, but it was a popular notion anyhow.

Atomic Adaptation -- The underlying theory in DWE, is that Nature quickly adapted some creatures to life in an irradiated world. The whole "Matsuo Test" thread sets this up. The massive radiation triggered mutations give creatures armored "atomic skin," claws, horns and the ability to eat radio-actively contaminated food. A barbaric new "after" world is hinted at with mutant Tommy, Radick and the other business man who stumbled into the valley telling of "others, out there." Radick coyly tells Rick that "there are wonderful things happening out there" (beyond the ridge), but won't elaborate. A brave new mutant world?

Purity Prevails -- The new mutant world did not last long. With the coming of pure clean rain water, mutant-Tommy dies. It's presumed that the pure rain kills off all the other mutants too. Louise says, "Man created him, but God destroyed him." Purity, symbolized by the water and personified in "good" Rick and Louise, prevail to reclaim the earth.

Bottom line? DWE is certainly worth a couple hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's a B film, but has reasonable acting and enough action to keep the plot moving forward. It's also a good example of the nightmare (and bunker mentality) that lurked through the 50s.

Godzilla Raids Again

Gojira no gyakushû (Japanese title ) was released in Japan in 1955, this movie would not be dubbed into an english version until 1959. Then, it would be retitled Gigantis the Fire Monster The original Japanese film was more artistic. The American dubbed version didn't do the original justice, but is more known by American viewers. Gigantis is more pure monster movie than sci-fi. Toho produced a sequel to the very popular Gojira ('54), repeating some features, but adding a few new ones. Gigantis is the first of a new genre in which rubber-suit monsters battle each other and stomp on a wide variety of model cities. An entire pantheon of rubber monsters would develop in the 60s and 70s, spun up around the Godzilla model. Mothra, Rodan, Megalon, Gamera, etc. etc., would be a study unto themselves. All of that, however falls outside of this study of '50s sci-fi. This review is more of a wave goodbye to a diverting branch.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Two pilots are flying small float planes as spotters for a tuna fishing fleet. One of them has engine trouble, so sets down on a remote and desolate island. While there, he sees two prehistoric monsters fighting each other. One is clearly a snaggletoothed copy of Godzilla. The other, called Anguirus. The two monsters fall into the sea and disappear. The two pilots fly back and alert the authorities. At a meeting of leaders and scientists, Professor Yamane (from the first movie) tells how Gigantis can't be stopped with conventional weapons, but is attracted to (and enraged by) light. When Gigantis is seen approaching Osaka harbor, jets drop flares to lure him away. It was working until some escaped convicts crash their stolen truck in a refinery and start a huge fire. This attracts Gigantis. The Anguirus suddenly arrives too. The two monsters battle each other, laying waste to much of Osaka, even toppling famed Osaka Castle. Gigantis finally defeats Anguirus and starts a firestorm that destroys what's left of Osaka. After the destruction, the Japanese begin rebuilding their lives. The two tuna pilots have new tuna-spotting jobs up in snowy Hokkaido. Tsukioka spots Gigantis on a snow covered island. The military attack, but bombs do nothing. The other pilot, Kobayashi, buzzes Gigantis, who flames his plane. He crashes into a nearby snowy mountain. The ensuing avalanche comes up to Gigantis' knees. This gives everyone the idea to bury Gigantis in ice. Jets bomb the nearby mountains. Snow and ice bury him. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
It's always fun to watch a sequel, even if it doesn't live up to the original. Even the crudely dubbed American version has an artistic flare to it. This is the first of a breed, the kaiju genre of monster movies that would proliferate in the 60s. The layers of allegory are fun to ponder too.

Cold War angle?
The opening few minutes of the Americanized version feature stock footage of nuclear explosions and V2 missile launches. The narration is heavy handed nuclear angst stuff. After that, the original Japanese movie's Cold War messages are less obvious than in Gojira. But, they are still present. The movie could be taken as an allegory for "what if" the Cold War turned hot. The two monsters personify the two sides in the Cold War. While they battle, the rest of the world is laid waste as a consequence.

Notes
Homage -- To cement its role as a sequel, the character of Professor Yamane gets a cameo. He also shows a film to other dignitaries, which includes clips from the first movie. In the Japanese version, the monster's name is the Gojira too. The American version got the new "Gigantis" name.

Born Hot -- The origin of the monster is explained differently in this sequel. Yamane explains Gigantis as a remnant of a prehistoric species which lived in lava. Fire is part of their being. With this new re-telling, Godzilla moves away from being spawned by nuclear testing -- a personification of nuclear arms. Instead, he's become more of a primal force.

Fire and Ice -- Since fire is part of Gigantis' very essence, it's a poetic natural that his demise (even if temporary) should be ice. No conventional weapon could hurt him, but a mountain of ice could cool him into inactivity. In this, there is yet another metaphor for the Cold War. You can't eliminate conflict, you can only cool things off (for awhile).

Hyper Monsters -- Unlike most of the giant rubber monster movies, the fight scenes between the two monsters were shot at "normal" speed. Typically, such scenes are shot at a faster film speed to slow down the final. This makes each motion look more like that of a 100' tall multi-ton beast. In Gigantis, the normal speed action looks odd -- not in scale -- but does give the beasts a more savage quality.

Alternative Allegory -- Gigantis and Anguirus could also be seen from a WWII retrospective point of view. Gigantis is America. Anguirus is the Japanese militarist ruling faction of the 30s and 40s. As the two of them fight each other, innocent Japanese suffer. One defeats the other, then the Japanese try to rebuild their lives amid the ash and ruin. If this is the spin intended by the writers, it shows an interesting distancing of the Japanese culture from its part in the war. It was the militarist's war, not theirs.

Heroism -- The tuna pilot Kobayashi ends up being the film's tragic hero. He dives his unarmed plane at Gigantis and goes down in flames. The imagery is quite suggestive of the kamakazi. All the noble talk about brave Kobayashi gives a hint of how differently the Japanese view the WWII kamakazi. Even the Americanized version cannot hide this.

Lingering War Wounds -- After Osaka is engulfed in the firestorm, Kobayashi's fiance mourns over her city's fate. She asks, "how could this thing happen to her people? What had they done to earn such a dreadful punishment?" Since Gigantis, like his predecessor, is an allegory for war, such musing comes across as a sincere puzzlement over why Japan had to suffer as it did in the war. Victors may write the history, as the saying goes, but the losers often don't see their fate as so obviously deserved.

Bottom line? Gigantis (the Americanized version) is not as good as the Japanese original, but even then, it's worth the time. As a movie, either version is straying out of sci-fi-land, and into pure monster flick. But is the notable ancestor of a whole sub-genre of rubber-suit monster movies. Yet, despite this, it still has some war-allegory message merits.

Tarantula

Here we have another installment of the giant bug sub-genre begun by Them! the year before. Tarantula is solidly B material, but is fairly well done nonetheless. Jack Arnold, of Creature from the Black Lagoon fame co-wrote and directed it. Leo Carroll does a good job playing the mad scientist, professor Deemer. The special effects, which are mostly clever camera work, are actually rather well done for the pre-CGI era. Actually, with the deformed scientists subplot, Tarantula is almost two movies in one! One is the usual rampaging monster movie. The other is the detective/murder-mystery movie. The overall result is a very watchable example of classic 50s B sci-fi.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A deformed man wanders out of the southwest desert and dies. The local doctor (Agar) identifies the cause of death as a rare, slow-acting pituitary disease, but the reclusive Professor Deemer (Carroll) says the dead man is his associate, who was fine four days ago. Back in his lab, professor Deemer is giving injections of a nutrient solution to various animals who are very large. One of them is a tarantula in a glass case. Another deformed associate attacks the professor. In the ensuing struggle, the glass case is broken and the huge tarantula escapes out a door. A fire in the lab destroys the other giant animals. Before he dies, the deformed assistant injects the unconscious professor with the nutrient.
A pretty young grad student (Mara Corday) arrives to assist the professor. Doc Hastings (Agar) is predictably keen on her. A budding romance is put on hold as a mystery interrupts. Something has been eating a nearby rancher's cows, and then the rancher himself. A pool of white liquid near the skeltons is analyzed. It's tarantula venom -- gallons of it. Finally, the giant spider (now as big as a house) is seen and rampages around, making women scream and eating state troopers. The good guys try to blow it up with dynamite, but that fails. All seems lost as the now even larger spider approaches the town. Just in time, the Air Force flies in to the rescue. A squadron of P-80s arrive. Missiles do nothing, but they brought napalm bombs too. Now yer talkin'. The giant spider goes up in flames and the town is saved. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
For one of the giant bug flicks, Tarantula is pretty well done. The mad scientist subplot adds distraction, almost upstaging the giant spider story. The pacing is pretty good (except for a lull in the middle) and keeps interest. Later examples of the giant bug category would get much worse. This one is, by comparison, a gem.

Cold War Angle
There's not much Cold War in Tarantula. A thin connection is the "highly unstable" nature of the solution (to the world's problems) based on radioactive isotopes, but this isn't played up at all. The giant spider isn't cast as a personification of nuclear power, as Godzilla was. He's just a huge natural danger to be stopped by American military might.

Notes
End World Hunger -- What made the spider gigantic? Professor Deemer's synthetic nutrient solution. He worked on to solve world hunger. In his little speech, he noted that the world of 1955 had 2 million people. By 2000, he said there'd be 3.6 million. He says this gravely, as if the world could not support that many. In reality, by 2000 there were 6 billion of us. Deemer's idea was to create a synthetic nutrient that people could live on in lieu of dirt-grown food.

Ironic Justice -- Professor Deemer plays the common archetypal role of the misguided scientist who thinks he knows the best way to tweak nature. Of course, his synthetic nutrient solution creates monsters of animals and disfigured mutants of people. He, himself, falls prey to his own creation -- a fairly typical demise for B-movie impudent scientists. He is disfigured by his own concoction and killed by one of his monsters. In this, the frequent moral is made. Don't mess with nature.

Home Sweet Home -- Deemer's desert home (cum lab) is the "Dabney House" on Universal's back lot. It was featured in several films, such as being Exeter's house in This Island Earth earlier this year ('55). It will be used in the third Creature film, The Creature Walks Among Us ('56). Watch for it.

What Are You Smilin' At? -- One odd feature of the acting, is how often John Agar is smiling when he says his lines. The smiles don't fit the action. It's as if he can't get into character and is too conscious that he's making a monster movie. Since everyone else is able to stay in character, the dopy grin stands out as odd.

They're After Our Women -- Not. The poster art shows the spider with the usual beautiful, swooning woman clutched in his fangs. No such scene appears in the film. The spider eats cows, horses and men. There is, however, one scene which doespush the traditional buttons of "they're-after-our-women". Stephanie is in her room at Deemer's house, in her silky robe, getting for bed. The giant spider is a mega-peeping-tom outside her window, his huge compound eye watching her through the big window. He does start smashing the house, but doesn't seem to be after her. He does get Deemer, but no writhing leggy/buxom woman in the fangs.

Creature Theme -- Perhaps it's because Tarantula has the same director as the first two Creature films, but you'll note several times that when the spider is attacking, a familiar discordant three-note theme is used in the music. It's almost identical to the Creature from the Black Lagoon's special music theme. Perhaps Jack Arnold got to feeling that all monsters needed it, so instructed them to put it in.

Future Star Spotting -- This is pure movie trivia. Clint Eastwood gets a small uncredited part. It's easy to miss unless you're looking for it. He is the squadron leader of the Air Force jets coming to bomb the spider. He's wearing the full helmet, so you can't see his face. His voice is distinctive, though, as he orders his jets in to attack. Trivial, but fun.

Bottom line? Tarantula is not high cinematic art, but an entertaining example of the big bug sci-fi subgenre.

Creature with the Atomic Brain

A vengeful mobster, an ex-Nazi scientist, atomic radiation and zombies. From the barest descriptions, Creature with the Atomic Brain (CAB) movie should be about as tacky as 50s B-films get. However, CAB has some talent behind it which keep it interesting. The key ingredient is the writing of Curt Siodmak. He gave us Magnetic Monster ('53), Donovan's Brain ('53) and Riders to the Stars ('54). He will go on to give us Earth vs Flying Saucers too. With Siodmak's above-B writing, and above-B acting (Richard Denning, mostly), CAB is a better than average B film.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The action begins immediately after the credits. A hulking zombie breaks into a mansion and kills a (presumed) mobster boss named Hennesy. The police are baffled. The fingerprints are of a man who died days before. The blood stains are radioactive. (back story) A mobster named Buchanan was forced out of the country, betrayed by some mob mates. While in Europe, Buchanan finds a German scientist who is trying to re-animate the dead -- to provide a menial labor pool. Buchanan funds his research and brings Steigg to America. His goal is to send zombies to kill off those who betrayed him. The police figure out the common Buchanan connection with those killed and try to put the last three into protective custody. Buchanan uses a dead policeman to get one of them, and a dead police captain to get the other two. When the zombie captain is captured, police doctor, Chet Walker (Denning) discovers the remote control brain implants and figures out the plot. Police and army troops converge on the lead-lined mansion. Buchanan sends out his platoon of unkillable zombies to fight them off. Walker gets into the mansion and smashes the electronic controls. The zombies all fall down. Buchanan is about to shoot Walker, but the zombie captain strangles Buchanan first. All is safe again. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
Normally, zombie movies are tedious, but in CAB, they're not paranormal spooks. They're electronically controlled bio-units. Siodmak puts more "science" into the tale, which makes it more fun. While the staging is a bit flat, the pacing is good and keeps your interest.

Cold War Angle
There are no commies, but the fact that atomic energy is used to reanimate the dead, CAB does pick up some of the fear inherent in the new nuclear age. Steigg's zombies were fueled by atomic energy in lieu of life.

Notes
Zombie Vision -- One cool little detail is how Steigg used implants in the eyes of the dead bodies to collect and transmit live video of what the zombie saw. This made the zombies an extension of their controllers (Buchanan) and not simply a creepy monster. Steigg also used electrodes to control their speech, so the zombie could act like a remote speaker for its controller. The zombies also took voice commands like "drive the car," and "come home" and "Kill him!".

Girl and the Beast -- A curious trope in sci-fi is the scene where the killer monster is confronted by an innocent little girl. This appeared in the early Frankenstein movie. There is something compelling, some deeper chord struck, in these scenes. The monster stops being a monster, temporarily -- charmed by innocence? The innocent has no fear, she just wants to play. The little girl's death in Frankenstein was a mistake, not malice. In The Quatermass Xperiment ('55) and here in CAB, the monsters are alone with little girls playing with their dolls. The monsters somehow have enough human decency remaining in them to spare the girls. The dolls, however, suffer a sort of substitutionary "death."

Brains on the Brain -- Siodmak was fascinated with the power of the human brain. In Donovan's Brain the big gland had paranormal powers. In CAB, the brain is more of a machine which can be controlled by very clever scientists. The 50s had an undercurrent mood of naive optimism about "science" being on the verge of having all the answers.

Extreme Recycling: Zombie Labor -- A fascinating detail easily overlooked in CAB, is Steigg's original intention for his work -- to create a working class of zombie laborers to do menial work. Here, Steigg fits the archetype of the misguided naive genius "mad" scientist. His bio-robot idea is very similar to Karel Capek's 1921 play R.U.R, (which gave us the word "robot") in which non-human bio-tissue beings were created to supply humans with a menial labor class. This is an enduring notion.

A Trace of Decency -- A common feature in zombie and man-becomes-monster movies is the idea that in the good man, a trace of his goodness will remain. In the recent Quatermass Xperiment ('55) the astronaut Caroon, though being consumed by the space monster, does not kill his wife, nor the little girl, even though he happily kills others. In CAB, the zombie police captain, "Uncle Dave" to the little girl Penny, goes on to brutally stab the last two hidden mobsters, but does not hurt innocent little Penny. (the doll doesn't fare so well, see above). This seems to show that we like to think that goodness runs deeper than monstrosity.

Bottom line? CAB is not an easy movie to find, but worth the effort. Yes, it's a B-movie and sounds absurd. Nonetheless, it's well worth watching for a sci-fi spin on the ubiquitous (and often tedious) zombie character.

It Came From Beneath the Sea

While not especially well known, It Came... (ICFBS) is a classic example of '50s sci-fi. It's a solid example of the radiated monster sub-genre. What helps ICFBS rise above mere B-movie status are its stars and its effects. Kenneth Toby (The Thing from Another World '51 and Beast from 20,000 Fathoms '53) is already a regular sci-fi movie hero. Faith Domergue (When Worlds Collide '51 and This Island Earth '55) is equally established as a sci-fi leading lady. Donald Curtis is also no stranger to sci-fi. It's Ray Harryhousen, however, who dominates. His stop-motion animation is the heart of this movie.

Quick Plot Synopsis
While on a shakedown cruise of a new atomic submarine, some mysterious shape, larger than any whale, grabs the sub and won't let go. The sub eventually breaks free, but a mass of mysterious flesh remains in the aft dive plane. When analyzed back in Hawaii, the flesh is that of a giant radioactive octopus. The navy scoffs at the idea, but reports of a freighter sunk by a 'monster' and other mysterious happenings along America's Pacific northwest, convince everyone that the monster is real. The scientists (Domergue and Curtis) theorize that the depths of the ocean might have always contained such huge beasts, but H-bomb testing in the Pacific irradiated this one in such a way that its prey (fish) always know it's coming, and flee. Hungry, the beast comes to the surface and finds people on ships a suitable substitute. The authorities use mines and submarine nets to protect the city of San Francisco, but the creature isn't stopped by explosives. They try a electrified grid under the Golden Gate bridge, but this only enrages the beast to attack and destroy the bridge. From there, the beast heads for the waterfront and does some damage there too. Soldiers with flame throwers force it back into the sea. There, a special torpedo has been loaded aboard the atomic sub. It must be lodged into a vulnerable area of the beast, then exploded remotely. With some dramatic setbacks, this ultimately works. The beast is gone. The world is safe, for now. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
Harryhousen's animation is great. It really lifts this otherwise pedestrian movie out of the dull B-movie pack. It's also amusing to see how much of a plot retread ICFBS is. It's basic entertainment, following familiar paths rather than breaking new ground.

Cold War Angle
ICFBS falls into the familiar cautionary tale sub-genre. Atomic testing turned the beast against humanity. In this, it's akin to Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Godzilla. On a slightly more symbolic level, the beast is like Godzilla, a living metaphor for nuclear energy. We unleashed it, and now it preys on mankind. True to the Cold War mindset, it is the military with atomic powered weapons that play the role of America's savior. This is the mindset that kept the Cold War alive.

Notes
Hexapus -- it is often noted that Harryhousen's "octopus" had only six arms. This was due to a budget cutback, but really isn't noticeable. There are few times you could ever tell.

Feminist Message -- one blatant "message" within ICFBS is promotion of the "new woman." Domergue plays this personification of the brilliant, strong-willed, brave new woman. The old stereotype isn't quite dead yet, though. When she sees Curtis on the bridge being attacked by the beast, she screams like a girl. Toby pushes her into the restraining arms of a policemen while HE dashes out to save Curtis. Despite this, ICFBS does try to advance the strong-woman role.

Ray Greatness -- ICFBS is a great showcase for the animation talent of Ray Harryhousen. His artistic eye made his stop-motion monsters feel more alive than most stop-animators' work. Watch for the subtle moves the creature makes. They're not strictly necessary for the shot, but they do suggest a creature who doesn't simply exist for the shot.

Plot Redux -- The plot of ICFBS will seem familiar. It's nearly the same one as in Beast from 20,000 Fathoms ('53). It's also very similar to the premise for the original Godzilla. Then there is the very-B Monster from the Ocean Floor ('54) which also featured a tentacled beast terrorizing the coast. It's interesting to note that Ihiro Honda first imagined his atomic-spawned beast as a giant octopus, but thought it too obtuse and opted for a dinosaur instead.

Tedious Triangle -- A typical Hollywood love triangle consumes much of ICFBS's runtime. Commander Mathews (Toby) falls for lady scientist Joyce (Domergue), who feels loyal to genius scientist Carter (Curtis). Triangles seem to abound in sci-fi. There was a love triangle in Godzilla and a loose one in Monster from the Ocean Floor. Or, the triangles of the three Creature from the Black Lagoon movies. Most of the time, the romance thread in ICFBS seems contrived and competes with the sci-fi monster story, rather than advancing it.

B Heritage -- Despite the big name stars and top notch animator, ICFBS is a classic B movie. There is frequent narrator voice-over to tell you the story instead of the movie telling it. There is much use of military footage.

Bottom line? ICFBS is definitely worth the watch, if only to see Harryhousen's work. It's a B movie, but it's a good B movie. It does little to advance any sci-fi notions. Instead, it's a rehash of earlier ideas.

The Quatermass Xperiment

It was a little difficult figuring just where to insert this movie in the timeline. The Quatermass Xperiment (QX) was a Hammer Films version of a 1953 BBC television series. Released in the UK in 1955, American audiences didn't see it until 1956. By then, an alternative tile of The Creeping Unknown was in use too. (see poster). The BBC produced a second television series: Quatermass II which itself would become a feature film in 1956.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A rocket crash-lands in the English countryside one night. It's the first manned rocket of the British space program, returned from being lost for two days. Only one of the three crewmen staggers out. The other two are gone. Only empty pressure suits remain. The surviving crewman, Victor Caroon, is obviously very sick. The local police inspector suspects Caroon of murder. "In my book, 3-2=1 means I investigate the 1." Caroon's fingerprints are no longer "human." Caroon's distraught wife hires a man to get him out of the security hospital. Caroon strikes the man, killing him. A mere touch drains the life out of him. Caroon's wife is horrified when she sees that his hand has become large and thorny (he touched a cactus and 'merged' with it.) Caroon runs away. The police search fruitlessly. Caroon hides but is discovered by a little girl. Eventually, he hides in a zoo and after hours, saps the life out of many of the animals. A conspicuous trail of slime is now seen. A fragment of the thing is found and taken back to Quatermass's lab. There, they see that it absorbs life (lab mice) to grow. While they're away, the blob breaks out of its glass case, but expires on the floor before reaching more mice. It was just about produce spores. The bigger blob must be too. Time is short.
A TV crew are televising a show about the restoration of Westminster Abby, when the giant tentacled blob thing that once was Caroon, wriggles onto the scaffolding. It goes into a quiet mode in order to release its spores. Quatermass orders all of London's power grid be hooked up to the metal scaffolding. It is, and the blob is roasted. The world is safe, but irascible Quatermass is only interested in launching a second rocket. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The story is classic sci-fi with classic horror overtones. The pacing is pretty good and the effects are passable for the era. The Caroon character is especially creepy and keeps the plot interesting.

Cold War Angle
QX has little trace of typical Cold War themes. The story is more of a pure sci-fi monster tale about the unknown dangers that may lurk in space.

Notes

Pre-Blob -- Quatermass theorizes that out in space there was a form of life which did not utilize tissue, as earth life did. This is a concept that will reappear many times in sci-fi. When the rocket passed through it, the stranger merged with Caroon. The merging seemed to have killed the other two. Once hybridized into corporeal form (Caroon), the creature sought out new life forms to merge with (the cactus) and found that it could feed off of living beings by absorbing them -- rather like more-famous The Blob in 1958. It continued to mutate beyond man-shape into the tentacled blob thing. It wasn't a menacing intelligence so much as a life form going about it's bio-business -- eating and trying to reproduce. Man still struggles against beast for survival. Space is the new dark jungle.

Small Space -- Quatermass bombasts about how the rocket went "1500 miles into space!" as if that was a really long ways. At this time, Sputnik had not yet flown, so people had little mental image of space. Actually, pretty ordinary GPS satellites are up around 1200 miles. Geostationary weather satellites are at 22,000 miles. 1500 miles is actually not that far up. In the mid 50s, it must have seemed very far out there. After all, the much-vaunted V2s only went up 50 miles. Ah, how much larger space turned out to be.

Nobody Listens To Me -- One amusing feature that occurs somewhat frequently in QX, is the unimposing and ineffectual image of the British police. They cordon off an area, but when Mrs. Caroon goes in anyway, the bobbie can only trot along behind her bleating, "Hey, miss, stop. Hey." She ignores him. When the crowds assemble, a police car with loudspeaker whines. "Please go home. You're only going to hamper our efforts. Please go home." No one leaves. This ineffectuality happens many times. Perhaps a subtle commentary on British policing?

You Call Yourself A Rocket Scientist? -- The Brian Donlevy portrayal of professor Quatermass seems odd today. He's brash, arrogant and rude. Yet, he's still revered and respected (in the story). This may be a glimpse into the British reverence for scientists. They can be total jerks and get away with it. "There's no room for personal feelings in science, Judith," he tells Caroon's wife. Apparently there's no room for civility either. That's her husband, for crying out loud. Perhaps Quatermass was intended to portray a sort of Churchillian determination (to make the British space program succeed), but Quatermass lacked any of the charm of Churchill. Instead, he's just a pompous jerk.

Good ol' Electricity -- Ah, how many sci-fi monster flicks rely on our old friend electricity to kill the beast. Interesting that all of London's power could be channeled through a single two inch cable. Those were the low-power consumption days, I guess.

Bottom line? QX is definitely worth the watch. Yes, it's low budget, but it's well done and a classic example of the sci-fi horror genre.

King Dinosaur

Only obscurity has kept King Dinosaur (KD) from being lampooned as one of the "worst movies ever." Other movies, which get tagged with that dubious distinction have better stories and even better acting. However, to kvetch about the imperfection of B-movies is like complaining that Little Leaguers don't play like Major Leaguers. KD did strain the intention of this study -- to find the good, even in bad movies. Writer/Director Bert I. Gordon wanted to do a (fake) dinosaur movie, so he did. Having a good storyline was optional.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A new planet drifts into the solar system and takes up an orbit around the sun close to earth's. It looks habitable. The nations of the world begin a space race to build rockets, in hopes of being the first to planet Nova. Four American scientists are the first to land. They find the atmosphere very close to earth's, so forego the space suits and explore the tall pine woods and meadows in shirt sleeves. The geologist pronounces it a very young "preshistoric" planet. They make a rustic camp for the night. The physician and his fiancee go for a walk, but he trips, rolls down a hill and is attacked by a rubber alligator. Since he's badly mauled by the rubbergator, the biologist and geologist decide to explore the island in the lake and leave the other two at camp. Once on the island, they're attacked by a "giant" iguana. The paleontologist enthuses about seeing a T. Rex, the king of the dinosaurs. It has them holed up in a cave. They manage to fire a signal flare. The other two see it and paddle to the island. While a "giant" gila monster fights the iguana, they rescue the trapped pair. They decide to detonate their atomic power pack to kill the "dinosaurs". This they do, pronounce it a good thing, then happily set back for home. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
To start with, you can't expect KD to be a regular movie. It's a lower budget than the usual low-budget fare, so it's amazing that it exists at all. There are actually some fun nuggets among the many many minutes of stock footage. A tiny plot nugget is that Gordon predicted the space race five years before it actually began.

Cold War Angle
The narrator explains that the nations of the world are racing to the first to 'claim' planet Nova for their civilization. The note of urgent necessity to this race can only find its power in Cold War thinking.

Notes
Think B.I.G. -- This was Bert I. Gorgon's first film -- both as writer and director. It's a pretty lame movie, as even B-movies go, but it was his debut. Gordon would go on to create several other (somewhat better) 50s B-grade sci-fi movies: The Amazing Colossal Man, The Beginning of the End, Attack of the Puppet People, Earth vs. The Spider and War of the Colossal Beast. In all of these there is the play of ordinary-sized things being "made" gigantic. In the Puppet People the protagonists are made small, but this still leaves the normal sized villain as the relative giant. Gordon was fascinated with BIG things. KD was his first foray into photo-giantism.

Checkers! -- Many B-films used stock footage of the test firing of the V2 rocket, painted with the big four-square checker pattern. In KD, we see more V2 and Checkers footage than usual. Since Checkers has become like one of the family, this extra footage is like seeing "lost" episode material. Gordon also gives us footage of Checkers' blast off, reversed and superimposed over a pine woods skyline to create a landing. Hard to believe, but this cobbled-up bit of recycled footage would actually get recycled itself in later B-grade scif movies. Sakes!

Mega-stock -- One thing that strikes a 50s sci-fi fan about KD, is the mass quantities of stock footage -- even for a 50s B-film. Shots of assembling V2s, guys in various labs, testing jet engines, bomb tests, radar antennae, the ubiquitous B-47 in rocket-assist take off, some mice in space (supposedly), etc. etc. It seems like nearly half the movie's run time is comprised of stock footage. There is a lot of V2 footage. It seems like Gordon wrote up his story, then found as much pre-existing footage as he could to flesh out his outline. This meant shooting very little new film -- a big budget saver.

Dino-shifting -- You have to give Gordon some credit here. There's a ready market for people-menaced-by-dinosaur movies, but how to get modern folks and dinosaurs together? The "lost" island idea was getting old. King Kong, Lost World, Unknown Island, Lost Continent, etc. etc. had been done to death. Some writers opted to bring the dinosaurs to the modern folk. Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Godzilla, Lost World Gordon's solution was to have a planet with dinosaurs drift close to the earth so we could rocket over there and get menaced. He still had an island of dinosaurs, but the device of a new planet to explain why we'd not found them before. It gives a chance for some sci-fi spin too.

Budgetosarus -- The "dinosaurs" in KD are an alligator, an iguana, a gila monster and (briefly) an armadillo. Unlike in Lost World they're not gussied up with glued on fake fins and spines. They're just plain old earth critters filmed crawling over model landscapes as if they were huge. This would be a hallmark of Bert I. Gordon's work -- the ordinary made to look BIG.

Cave Sweet Cave -- Some of KD was shot in Bronson Canyon, so rightfully looks similar to the cave home of Ro-Man from Robot Monster ('53). Another Ro-Man dejavu are the scenes of the gator and iguana doing the death roll together. One wonders if Gordon had been inspired by Robot Monster.

The Civilized Bomb -- A very curious tidbit in KD comes at the end. The team has a nuclear power pack to drive their remote gear. It can be set to overload and become an "atom bomb." To deal with the "dinosaurs" that menace them, they set it for 30 minutes, then hightail it off the island. Once a safe (?) couple of miles away, the bomb goes off (stock footage of Nevada Test Site mushroom cloud). "We've done it," proclaims Dick. "We've brought civilization to planet Nova." Perhaps Gordon (the writer) meant that killing off the "dinosaurs" made Nova civilized (or civilizable). Perhaps he saw the bomb as the ultimate expression of mankind's progress. Either way, it sounds very strange to 21st century ears.

Bottom line? If you can't handle weak acting or get upset with stock footage, or groan at critters-filmed-as-giants, then avoid King Dinosaur. It will only make you angry. If, however, you're a fan of low-budget sci-fi, it's worth a look, if only to see how much mileage you can get from stock footage. The whole civilized bomb thing is worth puzzling over too.

This Island Earth

Like many 50s sci-fi movies, This Island Earth (TIE) has gotten a bad rap. It was lampooned in Mystery Science Theater 3000's movie, but it's really not a bad movie. Mockery isn't proof of fault. One can mock just about anything. TIE tried hard to be a grander epic about aliens and alien worlds. It must be admitted that it didn't quite reach its lofty goal. It's definitely a cut above the usual B movie, but not quite up to an A level. It is, however, a must see for a tour of 50s sci fi.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Dr. Cal Meecham sets out from Washington DC in his private military jet. He's on his way back to his California lab to resume work on turning common lead into fissionable uranium. As he comes in to land, his plane's controls go dead. A strange green glow takes over his plane and lands him safely. He decides not report it, as UFO sightings ruin careers. Back in his lab, he receives some miraculous small electrical parts from a mysterious Unit 16. He next receives an instruction manual from Unit 16 for a bizarre machine called an "Interociter." When completed, the Interociter receives a video message from a man with an unusually high forehead and white hair, named Exeter. He invites Meecham to join a group of scientists working on "world peace." The Interociter "kit" was the test to see if Meecham was worthy.
Flown to Exeter's estate by a pilotless plane, Meecham joins a collection of famous scientists, all of whom work in atomic research. The scientists are all cagy with each other, suspecting mind-control tricks by Exeter. Meecham, Carlson and Dr. Ruth Adams all decide to make a break for it. Carlson is killed by the Nutrino Beam. Meecham and Adams try to fly away in a small prop plane, but are pulled inside Exeter's flying saucer by a green beam. Exeter reveals that he's from the planet Metaluna. Meecham and Adams are being taken there to create uranium, which the Metalunars need for their planet's defensive Ion Shield. Another race, the Zahgons, are making war against Metaluna, steering asteroids and meteorites down onto the planet.
Once on Metaluna, it is clearly too late. The Ion Shield is failing and meteorites are raining down on the already ruined surface. Exeter takes pity on Meecham and Adams and helps them escape in his saucer. Before they get away, however, a worker drone (called Mu-tants) attacks and injures Exeter. It also gets aboard the saucer before they leave. While en route to Earth, the Mu-tant attacks Adams, but dies of his wounds. When the saucer gets to Earth, Exeter beams them down in the plane they had. He has no options, as his ship is out of energy. He crashes into the sea as a fireball. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
In TIE we have several tangents and twists to the advanced aliens story threads. These are fun to watch. The Metalunars are not quite evil and not quite good either.
The tale is sweeping in scope, with so many unresolved sub-plots that it gives the viewer plenty of stuff to ponder on, well after the movie is over.

Cold War Angle
The Cold War is quietly in the background in TIE, but it's there. All those scientists were working in atomic research. Exeter offers Meecham a chance to work toward world peace (instead?) Also, the war between the Zahgons and Metaluna, especially the devastation on Metaluna, serve as a warning preview of future war. Others have commented that Exeter's recruiting of top scientists for his uranium project, was reminiscent to America gathering up the "free world's" scientists for weapons research.

Notes
Aliens Among Us -- A subtle element in the first half of TIE is the notion of advanced aliens living secretly among us.

No Smart Zombies -- The Metalunars' "Plan A" (they actually called it that) was to use The Converter to remove the free will of nuclear scientists. The goal was to produce scientist drones who would unquestioningly work to solve Metaluna's problems. In this, there's a subtle commentary on the world of government research project work. Exeter finds that "converted" scientists lose their initiative. That spark of inquisitiveness, such as what Meecham exhibited at the Interociter kit, was gone. The Metalunars could not make smart zombies.

Plan B -- Exeter wanted to try being Mr. NiceGuy and coax the scientists into doing the needed research. This may have worked, but Metaluna did not have the luxury of time to find out. Hence, the need to simply abduct Meecham and Adams and force them to do their work on Metaluna.

A Creature's Second Chance -- The costume for the insectoid "Mu-tant" creatures on Metaluna was proposed for the 1953 movie It Came From Outer Space but was rejected by director Jack Arnold in favor of the cycloptic potato-things. Perhaps the big brain bug-man was too obviously menacing looking for the advanced-but-benign aliens in It came.... But, like many sci-fi props, it went into "inventory", not the dumpster. The "highly advanced" quality of the aliens in It came... explains the incongruity of the Mu-tants having such big brains for supposedly menial laborers on Metaluna.

The Noble Alien -- Exeter is an interesting twist on the potential invader. He has sympathy for the earthlings. He's torn between his desire to save his home world, yet respect for Earth. His cohort, Brack, is more of the typical invader alien. Brack would just as soon "convert" everyone, and blast with the Nutrino Beam any who step out of line. Metalunaa's leader, The Monitor, is smug about their superiority and intention to take over Earth as their new home. Exeter argues that they could live in peace among the earthlings. In the end, Exeter gives his life to return Meecham and Adams to the Earth.

Two and a Half Years? -- The promotional posters proudly state that TIE took 2 and a half years "in the making." The final result does not look like 2.5 years of continual effort. Since the Mutant alien costume was created in 1953, it's possible that the idea and even some initial shooting began then. The project may well have gone "back burner" a few times. There are three very distinct "acts" to TIE, which lend themselves to big breaks -- Act 1:The early jet / lab / Interociter, Act 2: The Exeter estate, Act 3: To Metaluna and back.

Old Home Coming -- Make note of the house used as Exeter's estate. It was on Universal Studios' back lot and so got used in many movies. We'll see it again in Tarantula ('55) and The Creature Walks Among Us ('56). There are more in other genre too, such as westerns, etc.

Bottom line? Definitely check out TIE, and not the MST3K version. It's not one of the memorable epics of '50s sci-fi, but neither is it the failure that MST3K fame implies. It is one of the milestones of '50s sci-fi.

Revenge of the Creature

Even before they were done making Creature from the Black Lagoon ('54) Universal Studios and director Jack Arnold were laying the seeds to a sequel. They changed the ending in the first movie to be ambiguous so it would be plausible to bring the gill-man back. Their instincts were correct. The first movie turned out to be very popular. When they set about doing the second movie, it was only part sequel -- it professed to tell the continuing story -- but it was also a remake -- telling the same story in a slightly different way. Fans of the Creature series often consider this second installment to be the weakest of the three, perhaps because it recycles much of the original plot. The third movie, The Creature Walks Among Us offers some new story elements.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Two scientists return to the Black Lagoon, aboard the Rita 2, to capture the gill-man. They explode some floating dynamite charges around the lagoon. When the unconscious gill-man floats up, they put him in a tank and head home. They take him "Ocean Harbor" (an aquatic amusement park) in Florida for exhibition and study. They revive him, but have him chained to the floor in the big exhibit tank, along with all the other ocean life already on display. The lead scientist, Clete Fergusson (John Agar) and obligatory beautiful female scientist Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson) are trying to train the gill-man to understand spoken commands. After one session, gill-man breaks his chain and escapes -- amid much pandemonium. He escapes into the sea.
Later, he reappears outside Helen's motel room. He follows her and Clete upriver to Jacksonville and crashes their celebration party at a riverside restaurant. Gill-man snatches Helen and swims off. He is hunted down by an army of policemen with searchlights. Eventually they find him. The lights anger/confuse him, so he puts Helen down. A hail of bullets throw him backwards into the water. There's the exact same ambiguous floating down footage from the first movie. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
If you're a Creature fan, this movie is a second helping of your favorite meal. The acting is much better than its B-budget would imply. There is a lot more action, so the movie moves along at a fairly brisk pace. It's also fun to spot the re-use of footage from the first movie. More on that below. Also, watch for a very young Clint Eastwood in his first movie role. He got a small talking part as the intern lab assistant. His hair is a total hoot!

Cold War Angle
None. Like the first Creature movie, which this is just more of it, the story is about scary creatures, not commies.

Notes
Creature, Mark II -- The gill-man's costume in Revenge is not simply the re-use of the first. Since the gill-man had to do more walking on land in this movie, they had to modify the eyes so the stunt man could see better. The modified eyes were incorporated into the underwater costume too, for continuity, but you'll notice some shots where the gill-man's costume does not have the "egg" eyes. These are shots from the first movie's footage.

Aqua Kong -- The plot line is a close mirror to the story of King Kong. An expedition travels into the mysterious jungle and discovers a rare "freak" of nature. They bring it back to civilization to exhibit and study. The creature is smitten with the beautiful woman. He breaks his chains and escapes. He abducts the woman, but is stopped and killed (almost). There are many little copied elements, if you're looking for them, such as at the display tank where the many photographers' flashbulbs drive the gill-man crazy.

Dip Redux -- Many of the first movie's scenes were reshot, but essentially the same. One of the most blatant was having the second beauty, Helen, don a white swimsuit and go swimming in the clear spring water. The creature then swims along beneath her in almost the exact same manner. The producers were apparently not ashamed of simply doing it again, if audiences liked it.

Inevitable Love Interest -- Like the first movie, and most movies, for that matter, Revenge has the usual boy-likes-girl (who is also liked by another boy) sub plot. It's fairly shallow, to the point of trivial. Given the surprise popularity of Gill-Man from the first movie, it's a little odd that this plot feature got as much air time as it did.

By Any Other Name -- The exhibit and research facility is called "Ocean Harbor," but is actually shot at a real sea-attraction park called Marineland. Located on the coast just south of St. Augustine, Marineland was one of the first touristy attraction sites which were beginning to cater to the growing tourism industry. Years before SeaWorld and decades before Disneyworld. The post-war prosperity put millions of Americans on the road looking for interesting diversions. The producers of Revenge used Marineland, but made up overlay signs that said "Ocean Harbor" for wherever "Marineland" or "Marine Studios" appeared. Watch for them and you'll see. They're just overlays. Still, Revenge gives modern viewers a peek at mid-50s pre-Disney Florida tourism's modest beginnings.

Bottom line? If you liked the first Creature movie, Revenge will be fun. If you didn't especially like the first movie, the second one will feel shallow and predictable. For the sci-fi fan, there's really no "science" in the fiction. It's a monster movie.

Conquest of Space

Producer George Pal gave us the sci-fi landmark Destination Moon in 1950. He then gave us the timeless classic War of the Worlds in '53. This, his third epic, was a grand effort, but fell shy of his earlier triumphs. On paper, it should have been another mega-classic. The team members from the earlier hits were reassembled. Pal as producer, Haskin directing, Lydon on screenplay, O'Hanlon writing. Conquest was also based on a popular book. Yet, despite all this pedigree, something fell short. Conquest would not go on to be remembered as one of the 50s mega-classics. Some of this obscurity may be due to Conquest being in the "serious" science fiction sub-genre, like Destination Moon and Riders to the Stars which tried to depict a plausible space-traveling future. Audiences were becoming much more entranced with saucers and weird aliens.

In some ways,Conquest is a remake of the basic story line from Destination Moon -- a crew are the first to land on a celestial body. They struggle to survive and yet courageously return. This time, instead of the moon, it's Mars. As a remake goes, however, it's worthy. The Technicolor is rich and the sets well done. This is an A-level production which at its release was the 2001: A Space Odyssey of its day. All the melodrama, however, starts to get in the way of the techno-gee-whiz.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Based aboard a rotating wheel space station, workmen prepare a big flying wing of a rocket ship. A group of potential crewmen train for what they think will be a moon landing mission. As the work nears completion, they find out that the real mission will be a landing on Mars instead. While aboard "The Wheel", we're introduced to the phenomenon of "space sickness" -- a mental breakdown due to workload and confinement for long periods. One of the crew candidates is scrubbed because of one such breakdown. Nonetheless, the multinational crew are chosen and embark for the long journey to Mars. After departure, it's found that General Merritt's old friend, Sergeant Mahoney, stowed away. On the way to Mars, a communications antenna is damaged and must be fixed via spacewalking crewmen. Just as the repairs are completed, the customary meteor arrives, threatening to hit the ship. General Merritt manages to fly the ship out of the way, but one of the crewmen on EVA is hit with micrometeoroids (like bullets) and killed. The General is also starting to show odd behavior, doubting whether their mission is proper or is an affront to God. Their evasive action puts them behind schedule, but they arrive at Mars. While attempting to land on Mars, the General has another bout of delusion and tries to abort the landing. His son, Captain Merritt, manages to take control and brings in the flying-wing lander to a rough but successful landing. The others go out to explore, but the General, now fully delusional, is venting rocket fuel in an attempt to blow up the ship. His son discovers this and the two struggle. The General's pistol discharges, killing him. Mahoney comes on the scene just then and accuses Captain Merritt of murdering the General. The rest explore a bit more, but pronounce Mars a dead planet. Despite this, Imoto discovers that his earth flower seed sprouted in martian soil. Earthquakes cause the escape rocket to shift off of perpendicular. They get it righted and blast off. On the way home, Mahoney and Captain Merritt make up and declare that the dead General was a hero, the man who conquered space. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The color, the sets, models and background paintings are very visually rich. The whole image is a great snapshot of the future as people in the mid-50s imagined it would be. More tidbits in the Notes section below.

Cold War Angle
There is actually a subtle anti-war tone to the movie. No overt talk of nuclear dangers or menacing enemies. It is notable, however, that among the conspicuously international crew candidates, there is no Russian. Americans would "conquer" space with a few other nationals along for the ride, but NO Russians. There is also a poorly explained urgency to the mission. What's the hurry? Back in the Cold War, it was pretty common that WE had to get something before THEY did.

Notes
Based on the Book -- In 1949, Willy Ley wrote the book "The Conquest of Space," which speculated about how mankind might travel to other planets. This book was illustrated by space artist Chesley Bonestell. This book would become the inspiration for the movie.

From News Stand to Silver Screen --
From 1952 to 1954, Collier's magazine ran a series of stories about mankind conquering space. These were repeats by Ley and Bonestell of their 1949 book, but this time Collier's added material from "rocket scientist" Werner von Braun. Bonestell's new illustrations were clearly the prototype for the look of Conquest. People felt that mankind was on the verge of taking to the stars. The Collier's series expressed that giddy optimism.

Mired in Melodrama -- The screenplay for Conquest added weak human interest sub-plots which almost negate the gee-whiz optimism that the visuals convey. The screenwriters were all experienced in their craft, so it's puzzling why such amateurish characterizations are so prominent. The comic relief moments are almost cartoonish. The whole leader-gone-mad sub-plot seems out of place.

Earth-bound Man? -- A possible "message" to Conquest is that man is a fragile creature who may not be ready for the rigors of space travel. Certainly, people wondered about this, and other movies touched on the theme too, such as Riders to the Stars ('54). Our not being mentally ready yet was cited by the aliens in It Came From Outer Space ('53). General Merritt's dementia was foreshadowed in the breakdown of Roy early in the movie.

Navy In Space -- One thing that strikes the viewer is how much life aboard the space station is presumed to duplicate life aboard a navy ship. It's not overtly stated that the military should (or will) be the agency which "conquers" space, but from the ranks and uniforms and the navy-life scenes, that message comes through. Space ships will be like earthly ships.

Religious Fanatic? -- On the surface, it seems like Conquest is blasting Christians as dangerous religious fanatics. This notion, that anyone who believes in God simply MUST be wacko, would be much more popular in later decades, but it was uncommon in the 50s. For that reason, the General's dementia deserves a closer look.
Actually, General Merritt was not the stereotypic religious fanatic. His son comments that he had never seen him carrying around and reading the Bible before. Instead of headaches or paralysis, the General's "space sickness" took a paranoid turn. He had rational misgivings about the Mars mission from the start, pre-dementia. His repressed misgivings are expressed in Bible verses dealing with sinners being punished by God. He once quotes from Psalm 38, then later from Psalm 62.
Throughout all this, God is not mocked. Indeed, only the "religious" man had the courage to go outside and give the dead Fodor a proper burial. The other non-relgious crewmen were at a loss for what to do.
The notion of impudent mankind trying to meddle in God's domain, is treated as a credible issue. In this, the pattern of the Tower of Babel is drawn. Prideful mankind thinks they can build their way into God's realm. God foils that plan. General Merritt's dementia seems motivated by a fear that this divine retribution could be coming again.

Enemies Become Friends -- The writers of Conquest imagine a multinationalism in space. Most notable are two former enemy nations: Imoto is from Japan and Fodor is a German-accented Austrian, (as a stand-in for Germany). Imoto gets to make a little speech about why Japan went to war (lack of resources). Fodor gets to be seen as the cherished son of a classic "mama". By 1955, it was starting to become okay to look beyond World War 2.

Picture in Picture -- At one point, the crew of The Wheel are watching a movie with many scantily clad dancing girls (much like sailors aboard a ship). The movie is a lavish musical number with many gold bikini clad pseudo-harem girls dancing while Rosemary Clooney sings about love "...in the desert sand." This clip is total non-sequetor to the high-tech space environment. What's interesting, is that it's NOT stock footage recycled. Clooney had not done any such movie. This dance number must have been staged and shot just for this scene in Conquest. Random act of musical. Gotta love 'em.

Bottom line? Conquest is an almost-epic. It's definitely an A-grade sci-fi movie, so it's well worth watching. The human story part gets in the way sometimes, but the visuals more than make up for it.