1971

This was a banner year for sci-fi movies. Several big hits would become sci-fi landmarks like Omega Man and A Clockwork Orange. Dystopia was also becoming a recurring theme. Between the hits, there were plenty of low-budget B films to keep the average down. Below are the sci-fi films of 1971 in fairly chronological order:

City Beneath The Sea -- A Irwin Allen pilot. An underwater city houses America's gold. It's being robbed when a giant meteor threatens.

A Clockwork Orange -- Stanley Kubrik's dystopic tale of gang violence and brutal behavior modification.

THX 1138 -- George Lucas' dystopic tale of modern life as human automatons, where love is illegal.

The Andromeda Strain -- Big budget film about a deadly space germ brought to earth for weapons research. It escapes the lab.

When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth -- Yet another cave man (and scantily clad cave woman) film. Loose remake of One Million Years B.C..

The Fear Chamber -- One of four mexican-american cheapie films that were Boris Karloff's last. A rock creature "feeds" on fear - especially that of young women.

Alien Terror -- Another of Karloff's last. His beam weapon research attracts the attention of aliens who want to stop his project.

Escape From the Planet of the Apes -- Cornelius and Zira travel back in time to 1970. They become hunted as a menace to mankind.

The Omega Man -- Epic (second) remake of "I Am Legend" starring Charlton Heston as the last man on earth battling the zombie-like "brothers".

Glen and Randa -- An obscure indie post-apocalyptic tale. Two teens search for a mythic Metropolis amid the ruins of civilization.

The Big Mess -- German indie film: Der Grosser Verhau. A rogue space merchant runs afoul of galactic government. Chaotically told.

Quest for Love -- A British physicist accidentally travels to a parallel 1970 and falls in love with his alternate self's neglected wife.

Yog: Monster From Space -- Another Toho kaiju. A sparkly amoeba from space comes and makes several creatures into giants so it can conquer earth.

The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler -- Senator Wheeler is mortally injured in a car crash, but a shadowy organization saves him in exchange for political favors.

The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant -- A misguided doctor transplants the head of a psychopath onto the body of a big dim man. He/they escape and mayhem ensues.

The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant

American International Pictures put out a schlock horror/sci-fi hybrid in 1971, The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (I2HT). This was a 70s reworking of the 1959 (or '62) film, Manster which featured a rampaging man with two heads -- one especially bent on evil. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde connection is made plain in the script. (notes below) Bruce Dern plays the Frankenstein role as Dr. Girard. Pat Priest (Marilyn from the Munsters TV show) plays his wife, Linda. Casey Kasem (of American Top 40) plays family friend, Ken. Of course, the poster offers the usual iconic abduction scene with far more frontal exposure than the movie ever even tried to deliver on.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Maniac killer, Matthew Cass is caught and sentenced to a mental hospital. Nearby, lives Dr. Roger Girard (Dern) and his wife Linda (Priest). Old Andrew and his big son Danny are their groundskeepers. Danny suffered brain damage as a child, in a caved-in mine, so has the mind of a child. Roger (and his creepy cohort, Max) have been experimenting with grafting second heads on a variety of animals. He shows this off to his doctor friend, Ken (Kasem). Linda isn't allowed to know of the experiments. Cass escapes. He kills Andrew and carries off Linda. Before he can rape her, Roger shoots Cass. They take him back to their lab. Danny, upset over death of his father, is sedated. Max suggests that they put Cass's head on Danny's body. Somehow, this will be an interim step to Max getting Danny's body. (?) Roger agrees and they do the transplant. When Danny/Cass (hereinafter referred to as DC) wake up, he/they escape. DC hides in the old mine, then comes out to kill a couple of teens necking on a remote road. Witnesses tell of a two-headed giant. From the big footprints, the Sheriff suspects Danny. Roger denies knowing anything. Linda is locked in the lab for finding out too much. DC, hungry, stumbles upon the camp of three bikers. DC kills all three with maniacal glee. The sheriff has a posse with dogs. Ken hears about the two-headed giant, so goes to confront Roger. Ken tries to rescue Linda (now tied up in the bedroom) but Roger and Max stop them. Roger, Ken and Max look for DC too. Meanwhile, DC doubles back to Roger's house. He trashes the lab and abducts Linda (now locked in a cage. The honeymoon is obviously over.). Ken, Roger and Max follow the tracks and fallen shoes to the old mine. Max wants DC captured alive so he can still have the body for himself. This doesn't work out. DC knocks out Max. Ken shoots DC, to little effect. Roger shoots DC with more effect (Cass in the head). Ken helps Linda escape as the mine caves in. Roger, DC and Max are buried. Linda suggest that they not tell the whole truth, so Roger's legacy won't be soiled. The killer was Danny. Roger is dead too. So sad. Ramp up ballad. Roll credits. The End.

Why is this movie fun?

On its own, I2TH has little redeeming about it, beyond it's Jekyll and Hyde ancestry. The saturation of 70s style is interesting for those who lived through it. (Check out Casey Kasem's HUGE lapels!). The rampant 70s-ness will likely only mystify later generations. Pat Priest looks lovely as she traipses around in bikinis, nighties and low-cut dresses, all with an innocent Doris Day air.

Cultural Connection
The Jekyll and Hyde duality of good and evil was still a very potent theme. It would get many more serious expressions, but it was not immune to tawdry exploitation either. There was a demand for cheap gratuitous sex and/or violence films in the second-feature drive-in market. Such films were not really expected to be quality entertainment -- or even all that good. They just had to fill out the second half of the bill. Perhaps the assumption was that most of the teen drive-in audience was, by then, much more focused on necking than the film, that it just didn't matter. I2TH played second bill to Scream and Scream Again, featuring Vincent Price.

Notes
Hyde Bound -- Where the connection to 1931's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to the 1959 film Manster is largely inferred, the connection to I2HT is spelled out. When the Sheriff and his deputy examine Roger's trashed lab, the deputy says: "Dr. Girard must have been brewin' up some of that Jekyll and Hyde joy juice in here." There you have it via White and Lawrence's script. Two-headed monster men are Jekyll & Hyde at the same time. Note how the trope continued in that Danny was the "good" (at least innocent) head and Cass was the totally degenerate "bad" head. Note too, the continuation of the Hyde-esque sexual immorality undertone to the "bad." Cass is almost as fond of rape as he is of murder.

Hyde on Two-Head Coattails -- In late 1971, Andy Milligan wrote, produced and directed a Jekyll and Hyde remake (in a 70s take on Victorian style). It was a fairly lame remake, originally titled Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Blood.  But, I2HT apparently had garnered enough publicity that Andy retitled his low-low-budget production: The Man With 2 Heads. The poster almost suggests two-headedness, however, there was no man with two heads. Rather, it was the conventional Jekyll and Hyde alternating "heads". Andy's film is remarkable only in that it demonstrates the Hyde roots beneath the two-heads trope. Otherwise, it is an entirely avoidable film.

Stock Characters -- Aside from the absurd premise, the screenplay is comprised of stock characters. Roger is the stereotypic Frankenstein, dabbling outside of ethics for some vague benefit to mankind AND some personal glory. Max is the typical leering Mephistopheles goading Roger on, for his own selfish gain. Linda is the typical trophy wife, lovely, clueless, prone to faint a lot, get tied up (bondage?) and be abducted by the monster. (It's a living). Cass, the maniac, is the insatiable killing machine for no reason. The Sheriff is the usual slow bumpkin. Such well-worn characters were easier to write. There's no need for character development, because an audience already knows them well.

Poor Pat -- Pat Priest got her "big break" (of a sorts) as a replacement for Beverly Owens as "Marilyn" on the Munsters TV show (1964-66). She was slender, pretty and platinum blond -- the stereotypic bikini babe of the Beach Party movie era which was in vogue, but winding down. Post-Munsters, Pat's career "peak" could be said to be the 1967 Elvis film Easy Come, Easy Go in which she played the girlfriend (Dina) of Evils's nemesis -- in the blond bikini beach babe idiom. From then on, she found only small TV roles or bit parts. Her most "staring" role was in I2HT. (a sad testimony) Note the pool scene in which she lounges lusciously leggy in a blue bikini -- a pure beach babe shot. Poor Pat was a beach babe just a little too late.

Thin Science -- As is typical of a horror/sci-fi hybrid, the science is quite thin. There is, however, a poorly stated medical motive to the absurdity. This will be a factor in the follow-up 2-headed man film, so worth mentioning here. The idea, was to graft the head of someone you're trying to save, onto a donor's body while it sill has its original head. The original head would keep the body alive while the new head "took". Once the new head was stabilized and also controlling the body, the original head would be removed -- no longer necessary. This was Max's intent. Use Cass's demented head to prove the process, then lop it off and have Roger graft Max's head onto Danny's powerful body. Once the Max head was stabilized, the Danny head could go. Viola! New and Improved Max! --- Of course, it's wise not to try to read too much into such silly films, but this seems to be the medical motive.

Bottom line? I2HT is a low-rent film that could easily be forgotten with little remorse. The only reason to watch it, is as a series with Jekyll and Hyde at one end, then Manster, and finally The Thing With Two Heads. Outside of this series, it has little reason to be watched. MGM's Midnight Movies issued I2HT and TWTH as a double feature DVD. Unless it's in the dollar bin, or you like 70s schlock, it's probably not worth the money or effort.

The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler

Last up for the year 1971 is The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler (RZW). This low-budget B film not have actually had a theatrical release, but was released directly to video. Hence the VHS cover art in lieu of a poster. RZW is included here as a precursor to several later films dealing with cloning and the ethics thereof. It stars Leslie Nielsen, in a serious role, and Angie Dickenson as the obligatory pretty doctor. Bradford Dillman stars in the title role. Wheeler is near dead from a car crash, but "resurrected" in a secret shadow-government medical lab.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Note: the dual story threads are more consolidated in this synopsis. In the film, they are intercut in small segments) Senator Wheeler is driving home from a party at night. A man in a big Suburban crosses the centerline. In the "horrible" crash, the man and his lady friend are killed. Wheeler is mortally injured. TV reporter Harry Walsh (Nielson) happens on the scene. He recognizes Wheeler, has a scoop news flash, then accompanies Wheeler to the hospital. After a mysterious phone call, the hospital denies Wheeler was ever there. Walsh is adamant, but not believed. Wheeler is flown to a secret hospital in New Mexico where the undergoes multiple transplants of his many damaged organs. The donors are "Somas", human body clones injected with a patient's DNA to make them compatible. Due to the massive coverup, Walsh is not believed, and fired from his job. He sets out to investigate, uncovering bits here and there that lead him to New Mexico. The secret lab, headed by a Dr. Fielding, performs their miracle transplants on key world leaders, giving Fielding and his "Committee" unprecedented power over the men they "save." Wheeler awakens and is nursed to health by Dr. Johnson (Dickenson). A romance buds. When Wheeler learns of the whole scheme, he is righteously indignant and refuses to be a part of it. Walsh eventually eludes his pursuers and sneaks onto the secret base. He finds a room full of generic humanoid clones, physically adult, but mentally vegetables. He finds Wheeler's extra Soma, which with the extra time has come to look like him. Walsh 'rescues' the Soma, thinking it's Wheeler. He carjacks Dr. Johnson's car. In the ensuing car chase, they crash. Dr. Johnson is critically hurt. Fielding uses his power to save Johnson to force Wheeler to cooperate. Wheeler refuses. Fielding makes vague threats to both Wheeler and Walsh, should either leak the truth. A call comes in that Chinese Premier Chou Enlai had a heart attack and needs their special resurrection process. Fielding and his chief surgeon stride off to do another "good deed." Roll credits. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
There is actually a good amount of ethical issues content to keep many a long conversation going. The issues are still relevant today, 40 years later. While not a "praise", exactly, the very low production qualities of the film are a nostalgic reminder of 70s style crank-em-out television programming.

Cultural Connection
The trope of cloning as a means to an end (usually nefarious) was growing in popularity. While RZW is a fairly obscure film, it is a precursor to other, more famous works along the same lines, such as Coma and The Sixth Day.

Notes
Ethic Battle -- Central to the story is the ethics of (a) growing generic humanoids and (b) using life-saving surgery solely as a socio-political tool. On the cloning front, the question is raised (but not resolved) as to whether Fielding's Soma creations are human life or not. Does one have to be articulate, or intelligent to have a soul? On the other front, there is the running debate over men (the Committee) deciding who ought to be "saved" and who should be allowed to die -- particularly when the deciding criteria is how useful the person is to The Committee's vague agenda. The questions raised in RZW will show up again in many later movies.

It's Da Gub'mint -- Government conspiracy themes were growing in popularity in the early 70s. The Andromeda Strain is the more famous of them. Perhaps it was a natural outgrowth of the counter-culture of the 60s -- who distrusted the establishment, presuming they could only be up to no good. In RZW, a sort of shadow oligarchy rule the nations of earth by manipulating their leaders. Blackmail for life. It takes an audience already convinced that there are shifty goings-on, secret government labs, etc. etc., for the premise to work.

Henry Ford-enstein -- Dr. Johnson describes how Fielding's lab grows generic human bodies from eggs made to grow without fertilization. Thus, the bodies are "not human", as (for some reason), the brains do not develop, so they don't think or have a soul. (how do they know this?) Thus, Fielding can mass produce Soma bodies as living organ farms. He was a cross between Frankenstein (make bodies) and Henry Ford (mass producing them).

Nielsen, Seriously -- Given his later success in comedy, seeing Leslie Nielsen in a serious role as dogged reporter, has a fascination to it. Careful watching can reveal some of his comedic style present, despite the serious role.

Uninspired Vision -- Devotees of camera work or directorial art will note the nearly constant visual "desert" in the production of RZW. Director Bob Wynn was more in his element doing television documentaries or gala specials and tributes. He was not so much a cinematic artist. Note the very many shots with plain empty backgrounds. A single actor's face or head filling the center of the screen. The fixed camera shots where a simple pan left-right counts as "action" shooting. Almost all shots are done from eye level, giving the movie a very stolid feel. The music, such as it is, is often poorly matched library tracks, enhancing the cheap TV feel.

Squeal On Dirt! -- A favorite peeve, and hallmark of B-grade productions, is when the director (or editor) dubs in tire squeal to spice up a chase scene -- even if the cars are on dirt roads. Wynn has several of these.

Bottom line? RZW is a mixed diet of interesting concepts and really poor execution. The good outweighs the bad, however. Especially since there will be several sinister cloning movies coming down the pike. RZW is not nearly as well known, but was there before its more famous siblings.

Yog: Monster From Space

This study has included only a few of the many kaiju films produced since Godzilla. ('54) After the first few, the kaiju genre veered in a different direction (e.g. Gamera, etc.). The japanese title of "Yog" was: "Gezora, Ganime, Kameba: Kessen! Nankai no daikaijû". The english-dubbed re-release was, Yog: Monster From Space (Yog) . It is included here for its historical value and for having more of a classic 50s sci-fi plot device -- an amorphose alien from outer space who wants to conquer the earth. Yog was a sort of "last hurrah" of the Toho team and director Ishiro Honda. Since their first effort, Godzilla, was such a landmark of 50s sci-fi, it seemed fitting to bookend with the team's last.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Two parallel threads start the story. Thread One involves an earth probe sent to Jupiter to study it. En route, the probe goes "missing" because a sparkly blue "amoeba" being enters the probe and sends it back to earth. Thread Two involves a hotel developer who hires a photojournalist to shoot the remote island for promotion. He's not keen on the job, but the island is where he saw Helios 7 parachuting down. He and the pretty developer's rep, Ayako set out. They are joined by a Dr. Mida who wants to study the biology of the island and a shifty Mr. Obata who says he's an anthropologist keen to study the islanders. On the island, a giant squid monster rises up, terrorizes a villager named Rico, trashes some huts and disappears. The islanders think the outsider are angering their gods. The squid monster, named Gezora, attacks again, trashing the village. The humans use fire and leftover WWIi ammunition to drive Gezora back into the sea. The amoeba leaves dying Gezora and enters a crab which becomes Ganime. The crab does about the same and is eventually blown up. The amoeba leaves fragments of Ganime and returns in a giant turtle-thing: Kameba. Rico comes out of his amnesia stupor to recall that bats confused Gezora. The group search for bats and find a cave with many. The amoeba inhabits Obata (who was actually an industrial spy for a rival developer). The voice-over alien exposits about how they, the AstroQuasars, plan to conquer the earth with monsters. Possessed Obata almost destroys the bats (with fire), but human Obata resists and lets the bats out. The bats confuse a new Ganime and Kameba so they revert to their natural behavior -- fighting with each other. They epic-battle themselves into falling into a volcano. Possessed Obata throws himself into the volcano, so as to kill off the last AstroQuasar. Everyone is sad. The ship comes back to the island and everyone is happy, though no one will believe their wild tale.

Why is this movie fun?
The giant rubber-suit-monster genre became somewhat tedious in the 60s, but Yog has something more to it. For one, the monsters are somewhat interesting in their portrayal. A walking squid? The story of an amorphous alien returning to earth in an earth spacecraft, is SO 50s that there is nostalgia value.

Cultural Connection
As mentioned in the first paragraph, Yog is something of a bookend for the Toho/Honda era of kaiju. About the time Yog, Toho would undergo a management change and much of the team would be dispersed. On one end of their era is Godzilla, on the other is Yog.

Notes
Dubbing -- The english dubbed version was released in the summer of 1971 as Yog, Monster from Space or Yog: The Space Amoeba. The dubbing was problematic, as it usually was. Whatever sincere mood Honda might have created, was damaged with the shrill voice-over for Ayako or sound-booth grunting or footsteps or background crowd murmurs, etc.

Ro-Man, Plan 9 and AstroQuasars -- The rather shallowly written aliens, the AstroQuasars, give no reason for why they want to conquer the earth. They just do. Their use of monsters to do so, is reminiscent of Robot Monster ('51) in which Ro-Man uses dinosaurs to do his conquering (that is, recycled footage from One Million B.C. ('40)). It is also reminiscent of Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space ('59) in which dead humans are raised to do the conquering for the aliens. The trope had been used by Toho several times too, during the 60s. It was a bit cliche by 1970s.

Redeemed by Death -- A recurring trope in japanese movies (not just kaiju films) was the sacrificial hero. He was usually a good guy, like Sezawa in Godzilla, who gives his life to stop the monster and save the others -- all a very noble kamikaze sort of sentiment. In Yog, it was the shifty Obata who atones for his own shifty-ness by defying his AstroQuasar possessor and throwing himself in the volcano. Yes, he was bad, but he did good in the end.

Vicarious Victory -- Just a hint of vicariously rewriting history lurks beneath Yog. The islanders find a japanese ammo dump left over from the war. Using their WWII weapons, they successfully repel the invaders.

Bottom line? Yog is not a great film, and it's easy to see why it's fairly forgotten. It is almost just another multi-monster battle of the rubber suits, but it's just a little bit more. The dubbing can be annoying, but Honda keeps the pace brisk and the visuals varying. Gezora, while a bit hokey as a kaiju, is actually kind of fun to watch. Fans of the 60s monster vs. monster stories will find more of the same. Fans of Honda's Godzilla will find just enough of his human touch to the story to make it worthwhile. Not great, but worthwhile.

Quest for Love

An appropriate segue back from the 1930s to 1971 is Quest for Love (Q4L), a story about the world more-or-less stuck in the 30s. This humble british production was based on a short story by John Wyndham (who wrote Village of the Damned, and Day of the Triffids). Q4L stars Joan Colins. The story has a bit of science to support the fiction, but the story is largely a love story. The premise is not time travel, which had been done with some frequency. Instead, it's parallel universes.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Colin Trafford is a physicist with Imperial Physical Industries in London. He begins a demonstration of their Random Particle Generator. It goes awry and he is stunned unconscious. He wakes at the foot of some stairs in a posh London club. By a protracted set of scenes, Colin learns that he has become, or assumed, the life of another Colin Trafford. This one was a novelist, playwright, and a bounder. He finds that he has a reputation for being a drunk, hothead and womanizer. His old school friend Tom is in the parallel timeline too, but still has his arm. Since there was no war, he never lost it. Colin finds the famous physicist Sir Henry and explains what happened. Sir Henry believes him, but there's no tangible proof. The alternate timeline diverged in 1938, WWII didn't happen. JFK didn't die, but becomes the head of the League of Nations (which did not dissolve). London cars and fashions are more-or-less frozen in 1930s styles. Colin also discovers that he as a wife named Ottilie (Joan Colins). She loathes him (the other him) and wants a divorce. He's totally enrapt with her and slowly coaxes her into giving him a chance to show that he's not the Colin Trafford she knew. (which he isn't) She likes his new, polite manners, but it is the lack of a scar on his shoulder which convinces her that he's telling the truth. (Bad Colin got hurt at Oxford, but good Colin went to Cambridge and never got hurt.) They get intimate and are the happy couple. Tom is angry and protective of Ottilie, She's dying of a heart condition. Doctors in the alternate timeline don't know how to fix it, but Colin remembers that in his timeline there is an operation. Sure enough, she dies in his arms. Shortly afterward, he wakes in his 1971. After a bit of disorientation and no one believing him, he tries to "go back" by using the Random Particle Generator again late at night. He only succeeds in knocking himself out. Tom suggests finding Ottille in this timeline instead. This proves difficult, but Colin finally traces her to be a Tracy Fisher (her parents died in the war in his timeline, and she was adopted). Tracy is a stewardess for Pan Am and acting weak and sick. Colin races to find her before she can die again. He finds her while on a layover in London and saves the day. She recovers from the operation. He brings her white roses (her favorite in the other timeline). Zoom in on their hands touching. Tender music ramps up. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Sci-fi and romance are not a common mix, so Q4L is a rare example. Joan Colins plays her role with more fragile tenderness than was typical of her later reputation. The parallel universe theme was fairly new and fresh, compared to time travel.

Cultural Connection
For many, the essence of sci-fi is that it explores some aspect of the human condition -- usually via some science-derived (or contrived) circumstance. This was the case in the very early sci-fi story, Mary Shelley's Franenstein, which was thin on the science, and long exploring humanity. Q4L is similarly thin on science and long on exploring humanity. The creditably of the science was never the intent.

Notes
Based on the Book -- Actually, more of a short story titled "Random Quest" by John Wyndham, published in 1961. He wrote stories that became a couple of notable sci-fi movies, such as Village of the Damned ('60) and Day of the Triffids ('63). The screenplay follows Wyndham's story fairly closely, with some of the usual concessions to movie adaptations.

Cut Love Some Slack -- The core of Q4L is the classic lover's quest, older than Orpheus and Eurydice. That, and the constraints of a modest production budget, mean that the science part of the story will necessarily have some inconsistencies and omissions. The focus is love, not science, so much, so cut the story some slack.

Radium ex Machina -- As with so many sci-fi stories, science and/or radiation are used loosely as a dies ex machine to put the characters in whatever strange circumstances the author wanted. Colin's "Random Particle Generator" appears to have had no practical function. That is, other than to zap our hero into an alternate parallel timeline. Apparently, the machine isn't even necessary, as the Colins swap back without it.

Selective Transfer? -- One of the curious details in Q4L is that Colin's actually body makes the jump to the alternate time line, not just his consciousness. His clothes don't make the jump. But his long hair (which apparently both Colins' had, as no one questioned is sudden sideburns, or anything.), and the all-important missing scar from shoulder. So, it's not just that good Colin and bad Colin traded "essences", but actual bodies.

Nature vs. Nurture -- Curiously, Wyndham plays both sides of the nature/nurture debate. On the one hand, Colin A is kind and thoughtful. Colin B is selfish and boorish. Nurture, apparently, made the two very different men. Yet, Ottillie is presumed to be just as wonderful in both timelines. Nature is key. Imagine the tragic-romance story if when Colin A finds Tracy, she's a bitter, self-centered shrew. Wyndham, the romantic, must have seen women as intrinsically good (or bad).

Future Sameness -- Q4L's director, Ralph Thomas, tried to suggest different London in alternate-1971, but within the tight budget, there was only so much he could do. Thomas tried to imply a Britain which did not go through WWII, so stalled in "old world" styles. Men still wear 30s-ish 3 pc. suits and belong to wood-paneled clubs. Conveniently, young men in both 1971 wear long hair and sideburns. Automobile designs are the same too, though Thomas tries to use Rolls and Wolseley models to suggest that automotive "progress" was stunted.

Good War? -- Hidden between the lines of Wyndham's story, and Terence Feely's screenplay, is the notion that WWII was a good thing, it's own way. Without the war, Colin becomes a selfish cretin instead of a scientist. Fashion, design and architecture stay stuck in the 1930s. Medical science stalls too, in that the heart operation that saves Ottilie/Tracy is unknown in the warless '71. The "mod" styles of the late 60s never happened (a questionable "good"), since the prosperity of the post-war 50s didn't happen, so the rebellion of pampered youth didn't happen in the 60s, etc. etc.

Bottom line? Q4L is a moderate-quality film, created by folks comfortable in television. It is primarily a romance story and only secondarily a sci-fi. Wyndham's imagination still manages to shine through, despite the hobbling of a low budget. For most sci-fi fans, Q4L will probably not be worth tracking down to purchase. It is worth watching if it's available on television, or for free.

The Big Mess

Another obscure sci-fi film of 1971 was Alexander Kluge's Der Große Verhau, (The Big Mess, or TBM for short). The film played in America, perhaps only in New York City, as the Times did a review of it. There does not appear to be an english-dubbed version, so it is highly doubtful that general American audiences ever saw it. TBM may not have been seen outside of art film circles. Films written, directed and produced by the same man (Kluge) has seldom been a recipe for success, though Kluge managed to make a rather long career of it. That said, TBM suffers the same pitfalls. TBM is an artsy, confusing, fragmented "story" of several characters in space in the 2030s, told in clips, wiggly-cam vignettes and crude title cards.

Quick Plot Synopsis
(The following is a reassembled synthesis. An attempt at description in order of how events appear in the film, would be too long and make no sense): After several revolutions and galactic wars, the Suez Canal Company emerged as the only organized power. The SCC quickly solidified its monopoly on everything, becoming the de facto galactic government. Some citizens try to escape to the edges of SCC influence to find a better life. Some, like Mr. and Mrs. Sterr make a living "salvaging" old space ships. Others, like Carl Douglas, find employment at the edges. He flies cargo ships for the Joint Galactic Transport company -- outside of SCC control. The SCC builds a super battleship, flown by Admiral Bohm. It suffers an engine room fire on its maiden voyage. Bohm orders it destroyed so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Meanwhile, the Sterrs forge documents so they can get into high security areas and steal good stuff. They're caught and jailed but an attack on the city frees them. Douglas loses his job when the JGT is bought out by the SCC. He cavorts with a strange woman named Sylvia. Some rebel force launches an attack on the SCC's base world, but the band plays on. "The last American" explores space like the early pioneers. He is mistaken as part of a rebel attack and his ship destroyed. The montage stops.

Why is this movie fun?
TBM is not particularly "fun", nor easy to watch. It's value to sci-fi cinema comes from its alternative view of man's future in space. Where Stanley Kubrick envisioned a vast, clean, antiseptic future. Kluge imagined a crowded, dirty, brutish one.

Cultural Connections
The Marxist viewpoint of Kluge is abundantly obvious. Big companies are BAD. Business owners are pirates. Governments wasteful and corrupt. The common man is a huddled mass yearning to be free, etc. etc.

Notes
Anti-Film? -- Some critics have described TBM as an "anti-film". It certainly is the opposite of what mainstream audiences had grown accustomed to. Kluge created the intentional opposite of what movies had become. There is no cohesive narrative or plot. There is virtually no character development, so the characters are little more than names who come and go and do random stuff. The timeline has been cut into so many jumbled pieces that all events seem to be taking place more or less at the same time. Kluge uses inter-titles A LOT, making sure that each has a mismatched, badly hand-made quality to them. They feed the viewer random factoids but do not advance the plot as the old silent film inter-titles did.

Anti-2001? -- Some critics claim that Kluge was trying to create an opposite of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. TBM was produced the year after 2001. To some extent, this view seems to fit. Where Kubrick saw a future that was spacious, clean, orderly and full of sophisticated technology, Kluge's "ships" are cramped, dirty and filled with old technology. Kluge's ship models were almost-obviously cobbled together from mechanical junk. When the "city" of Kruger 60s is under attack, one of the foreground "buildings" is clearly the mainshaft gear cluster from a transmission. Ships are made of plumbing parts and miscellaneous metal bits. This satirical absurdity may be why TBM is sometimes listed as a comedy.

Social Satire? -- Perhaps the true motivation for TBM is social satire -- as seen through Marxist lenses. This comes through via several small set-pieces. For example: While inspecting the building of the new super ship, Admiral Bohm is nagged by men who want to buy the salvage rights to it, before it's even built! The Sterrs think of themselves as "honest" salvagers, but are really just pirates who steal jewelry from ships they cause to crash. Douglas gets a job as a pilot, but plots to steal from his boss. The supposedly tough security chief of the SCC catches the pirate Sterrs, but since they'll sign a paper that says they're against slavery, they're let go. The list goes on and on.

Nudity Note -- As if included solely for the gratuitous sake of it, there is a bit of bare-chested nudity. Sylvia, who may be a prostitute, or could just be a very weird woman, is shown sprinkling some blue liquid on her bare chest for what seems forever. It's not particularly erotic, just matter of fact. It makes no sense, but perhaps it wasn't supposed to.

Bottom line? TBM might have some artistic merit, but not to the average sci-fi movie fan. It's chaotic and grunge to the point of being self-righteous about it. Trying to make sense of (or find) the plot, will only make your head hurt. Whatever humor Kluge intended, must have been aimed at a narrow art-house audience of frustrated marxists, though it's hard to picture frustrated marxists laughing.

Glen and Randa

Post-apocalyptic movies were, apparently, quite popular in the late 60s and early 70s. Glen and Randa (GaR) is very different from '71's big post-apocalyptic film: The Omega Man. Yet, the indie production of GaR is as obscure as the big studio film OM is famous. There are no hoards of zombies to battle. Instead, the story focuses on the two title characters (more clueless than heroic) and their quest for a mythical city. The film got an X rating for its full frontal nudity. GaR shares with OM, the use of Biblical imagery woven into this view of post-apocalyptic earth.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Glen and Randa are 17 year olds who frolic in the woods, naked, rather like a new Adam and Eve. They find a rusting car up in the branches of a large tree, leftover from an unspecified apocalyptic event 20 years prior. He wonders where all the people went from the before-times. He wants to find "The City" he imagines is out there. They rejoin their rag-tag tribe, (not naked) as they forage for canned goods amid the ruins of a Howard Johnson's. While camped there, a Magician rides up on his motortricycle, pulling a pop-up camper. He sets up a sideshow of wonders to impress them -- mostly prior technology like a blender and record player -- run from his generator. He tries to sell some of his wonders for gold or jewels, but the crowd is almost completely stuporous. Glen befriends him to learn more about The City. The Magician is full of blather, but shares a few bits, such as an old highway map of Idaho and a Wonder Woman comic book. The Magician (it is strongly implied off-screen) takes advantage of Randa's naive innocent "friendliness." She remains blithely indifferent. Glen and Randa begin their trek west over increasingly rough terrain. They find a horse, but don't know they can ride it. Randa is beginning to show her pregnancy. They press on despite hunger and hardship, eventually reaching the sea. They find an old man named Sidney, surf fishing. He offers to let them stay at a house, which turns out to be an almost-completely wrecked mobile home near the shore. Glen continues to obsess about The City. Sidney says the city he remembered was called Boise was about 10 miles up the coast, but it burned down. Glen is sure his city must lay beyond the sea. Glen also obsesses over being "Sy-vel-ized." He reads aloud from nothing in particular and paints the names of things, like "Stoov" and "Wall" on them in the mobile home, as if to reclaim civilization via literacy. Randa's time comes, but she dies in childbirth. Both Glen and Sidney are clueless about what to do with the baby boy. They feed it goat's milk. They load up the baby, the goat and a few odds and ends, into a small boat Sidney had, and set out across the sea to find Glen's city. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
It's actually rather depressing, But, it also thought provoking, with many nice set-piece scenes, such as the one record the Magician plays for the crowd is the Rolling Stones' "Time is on my side." or the complete lack of reverence Glen shows for the skeleton of Arlene (whose wrecked trailer they adopt). The dead of the past era are just junk, like the cars and machines, etc. What if the survivors of WWII are not clever and resourceful rebuilders of civilization, but a rabble catatonics and simpletons? Lots to muse over.

Cold War Angle
Nuclear war is suggested as the cause of the collapse of civilization. Given the overall dark view of the surviving remnant, the big take-away message of Glen and Randa is the traditional cautionary tale. Maybe mankind might NOT rise from the ashes like some heroic phoenix.

Notes
Demons D'Jour -- GaR highlights how post-apocalyptic films create demons out of whatever the writers imagined was the underlying problem in their current cultures. In each, the apocalyptic breakdown of society allowed that problem element to rise into a threatening power. They each had their demons, but they were different demons. For Last Man on Earth, the danger was fascists. For Omega Man, the danger was anti-establishment luddites.(hippies)  In later fiction (such as the Mad Max trilogy) the demons were criminal punk rockers. In GaR, there is no evil-other to be battled -- only ignorance within. There remained only a trace of humanity, too clueless to feed themselves "when the cans run out."

New Adam -- There are some interesting Biblical parallels in the start of the film. Glen and Randa cavort in their idyllic woods, all innocent and naive. It is after his experience with a tree (of knowledge, of the before-times) that Glen becomes obsessed. The Magician character is a sort of serpent in the garden. He displays the wonders of the old world, piquing Glen's interest to the tipping point. They leave their paradise for rocky ground and "sin and pain", as the Magician describes it.

UnNamed Doom -- The disaster that threw mankind back into the stone age is never really explained. The poster suggests that it was nuclear war, as does Sidney's description that Boise was burned to the ground. The fact that there is a new sea at the foot of the Rockies suggests something, perhaps, bigger. But, the source of the doom is not the focus. Instead, the focus is on the feebleness of mankind.

Collapse of Man -- Quite the opposite of the heroic Omega Man, the surveyors in GaR are illiterate, foraging stone age gatherers, gleaners of old canned goods. Those old enough to have lived through the event, just stand speechless and disinterested. The only two old-ones who speak are The Magician -- who is a caricature of capitalism, and Sidney who is not quite well in the head. Sidney has an OCD routine of pacing the beach. He's not sure what to do with the new driftwood log "they send me," with each tide. Even Glen, the most astute of them, has little more than a 4 year old's grasp of reality. He and Sidney heading off into the open sea in a small boat did not suggest that mankind fared well at all.

Non-porn -- Despite the X rating, GaR is far from porn. Both characters are naked in their lush garden, but this is all done in a more documentary way than anything porn-exploitive. There are several points in which it is implied/suggested that Glen (or the Magician) use Randa for personal pleasure, though this always handled somewhat aloofly, with zero eroticism. This total lack of eros is, in itself, interesting.

Bottom line? GaR has no really science in its fiction. But, the post-apocalyptic genre is usually classified as sci-fi. It is a film of low production values, but very thoughtful writing and direction. It's not an action-packed thriller. In fact, on many levels, it's a fairly depressing portrayal of mankind coasting to a stop after the apocalypse. In this, GaR is a valuable addition to the post-apocalyptic genre. It's worth seeking out, if that genre is of interest. Be forewarned, though, about the nudity, etc

The Omega Man

A fitting followup to the third "Apes" film (which also played in the summer of '71) is Warner Brothers' The Omega Man (OM), released in August of '71. Charlton Heston launched the Apes franchise in 1968 and acted in the first two. In OM, he plays Robert Neville, the last "normal" man on a post-apocalyptic earth. The film is the second adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, "I Am Legend." It is also a remake of the first adaptation, The Last Man on Earth ('64) which starred Vincent Price.
Of course, "Omega" is the last greek letter in their alphabet, so the Omega Man is the Last Man (too). OM is a very 70s film, so has some archival value there too.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Robert Neville drives alone through an empty Los Angeles. He as the whole town to himself, or maybe not. At the sight of a shadowy shape in a building, he stops to spray the windows with machine gun fire. Dry dead bodies occasionally litter the city. He tarries too long in the city. Dusk falls. Albino mutants in monks' robes attack him as he tries to get in his garage. He kills three of them. He fires up his generator. The floodlights drive the mutants away. He's safe, but so tormentedly alone. Through various flashbacks, we learn that biological weapons were used in a Sino-Russian war. This spawned a world-wide plague which killed most people in minutes, but some victims mutated into psychotic light-sensitive albinos. Their leader is a former news anchor named Matthias, convinced that evil modern civilization brought the judgement upon mankind. Neville was a military scientist working on a cure for the plague. In desperation, he injects himself with one of the serums. It works. He's immune. Matthias's mutants want to kill Neville as symbolic of old world of bombs and machines. Neville wants to either kill the albinos, or find a cure -- he's not clear which. While foraging one day, he stumbles across Lisa, another normal person. She eludes him. Later, Neville is captured by the mutants. Lisa and Dutch rescue him. Neville finds out there are other normal people hiding up in the hills. They're infected and eventually "turn." Lisa's brother Richie is turning. Neville tries to help Richie by giving him a transfusion of his blood. Through various adventures, Neville and Lisa find romance. Richie gets better, but disagrees with Neville's goal of killing the mutants. Richie goes to Matthias' headquarters to broker peace and promise the cure that worked on him. The mutants kill Richie and bait in Neville. After much shooting, Neville makes it back to his apartment, only to find out that Lisa has "turned" and let in Matthias and his goons. They trash the place. Neville escapes to the yard with Lisa, but he's speared by Matthias. Neville shoots Matthias dead. Dutch comes in the morning with a truckload of singing kids. The dying Neville gives Dutch the pint of his savior blood, then dies in a crucifix-like pose. Dutch takes Lisa and the kids to some unspecified safe haven. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
OM is great as another iteration of Matheson's powerful story. It is infused with much early 70s culture. 8-track tapes! This does date the film, but is also fun as a 70s time capsule. Note the swinging' bachelor pad notion, so popular in the 70s. Heston is commanding in his portrayal of the "last man," as tragic hero. It's somehow comforting to imagine mankind's "last" being so full of resourcefulness and fight.

Cold War Angle
Fears of the end of civilization found voice in post-apocalyptic stories. There had been many since the early 50s and the start of the Cold War. Having the plague come as "fallout" from a superpower war was an easy sell to Cold War audiences.

Notes
Compared to the Book -- The original source material for OM was Richard Matheson's 1954 novella, "I Am Legend." His story had a global bio-plague which may have come from a war somewhere. "They" are called vampires, but also a sort of new mankind. Ruth is their bait for a trap. Neville is captured and sentenced to die as a monstrous serial killer of the new humanity. He was legendary. OM kept the bio-warfare cause, but the mutants aren't so much a new mankind as a temporary throwback to medievalism which would be temporary at best. The mutants eventually die of the plague, so why was Neville in such a hurry to kill them? The book is somewhat depressing, in that Neville is the last one of "us" and he's doomed. In OM, a Land Rover full of singing kids, Dutch, and Lisa, drive off to supposed safety to rebuild the "old" mankind.

Compared to the First Movie -- LMOE screenplay (said to have been partially written by Matheson) was already a departure from the novel, even though it also kept many key story features. The Corrington's remake built upon some of the 1964 features. "They" aren't zombies which rise from the dead, as in the '64 film. Once shot, they stay dead. The Corrington's have Lisa instead of Ruth, as a mildly infected "normal" woman, but not a trap. Though she does let Matthias into Neville's house once she's "turned." The '64 version had the ill-fated dog, like the novel. OM had no dog. (The 2007 version would put back in the dog.) OM has the hero speared and killed by Them like LMOE had. The religious undertones are there too. The "cure" is much more understated in LMOE, as Ruth's blood carries the hero's immunity, but little is made of that. Much is made of this in OM. The '71 movie has much more of a Rambo-like swagger to it too. OM's Neville wields machine guns, where LMOE's Morgan wielded wooden stakes.

Racial Mix -- The writers build in an interesting irony into OM. While Matthias bombasts about how his albinos represent the "enlightened" future of mankind, it is the afro-zombie Zachary who cannot let go of the old-world prejudices. Yet, it is Neville, the whitest of white guys, and Lisa, the afro-soul-sister, who set aside the old racism and find love. Inter-racial "love" was still a gasp-inducing topic in the early 70s. Having a token black on a starship crew was all good political correctness, but in the end, black women were supposed to pair up with black men -- not mix with the white guys.

Neo-Luddites -- Screenwriters John and Joyce Corrington rewrote Matheson's vampires and William Leicester's 1964 zombies. The Corringtons used their albino semi-zombies as surrogates for that faction of 60s counter culture which railed against militarism, capitalism and industry. They burn books (the establishment knowledge), and vow not to use "the wheel" -- symbolic of industrial civilization. To leave no doubt, the Corringtons have Matthias' minions smash things in Neville's apartment. Art, technology, civilization, all smashed in proper Luddite zeal. The way these counter-culture zombies are written, one can see some of the motivation that would underly latter "hippy" activism and the "Back to the Land" movement of the 70s, seeking to escape the evils of industrial capitalism, etc., etc.

Savior Symbol -- Note the ending, where Neville takes on the symbolic role of Jesus. He is killed by those he came to save. He was pierced in his side with a spear. As Heston slumps in death, in the fountain, note how he holds his arms -- as if floating by far higher than buoyancy would cause -- so the camera can slow-zoom back to reveal a Christ-on-Cross pose, but without the cross. Perhaps more significant is that his blood is then the key to the salvation of mankind. Not all of mankind, in a universalist sort of mode, but only those, like Dutch, who accept his sacrifice. Those, like the family, who refuse the blood, are doomed to "outer darkness." Audiences of 1971, no doubt, got this. One wonders how many 21st century viewers, in an age in which atheism is so fashionable, would get it.

Sequel Worthy -- Some 50s themes were just too powerful to leave in a single movie. Matheson's post-apocalyptic "last man" is clearly one of them. Vincent Price starred as the first on-screen last man (first last man?) in 1964. Heston plays Neville in '71. The Millennial Generation would get their own version via Will Smith as Neville in 2007. Each film would build upon the earlier ones, though drifting further from Matheson's darker tale with each remake.

Bottom line? OM isn't as "timeless" as some sci-fi classics, but it definitely is one. It is a worthy remake of the story and (if one can get over modernist revulsion for things "out" of fashion) a pretty well told story. OM is one of the 70s' hallmark sci-fi. It's worth watching on its own, but perhaps as part of a a triple feature of the "Last Man" movies. Compare and contrast…

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

The third installment in the Planet of the Apes saga sidesteps the inconvenient truth of how the second film ended -- with the nuclear destruction of Earth. Handily, three of the chimpanzees: Zira, Cornelius and a Dr. Milo, fly Taylor's ship back in time to 1973 to start up a new parallel storyline. This story amounts to the first movie's scenario told from the other side. In Escape From the Planet of the Apes (EFPA), Roddy McDowall returns as Cornelius. Kim Hunter continues on as Zira. New are, Sal Mineo in a brief role as Dr. Milo. Eric Braedon (from Colossus) plays the brooding Dr. Otto Hasslein. Ricardo Montalban plays the flamboyant circus owner, Armando.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Taylor's pointy spacecraft floats off the California coast. When hauled ashore, the army brass are shocked that the three astronauts are human-sized chimpanzees. Presumed to be "just" animals that somehow got aboard, Zira, Cornelius and Dr. Milo are taken to a zoo infirmary. They are studied by Dr. Lewis Dixon and Dr. Stephanie Branton. Zira eventually speaks. A gorilla in the next cage strangles Dr. Milo. He's dead. Lewis presents Cornelius and Zira to a presidential committee. They are all astounded too. The two become guest celebrities around Los Angeles for awhile. Zira faints at a museum. She's pregnant. Dr. Otto Hasslein (Eric Braedon) suspects there is some ominous untold story. He gets Zira drunk on "grape juice plus". She tells some incriminating backstory from the prior movies. Hasslain later gives her 'truth serum' and gets more worrisome backstory. The future in which apes eventually subjugate humans worries him deeply. He lobbies with the president (William Windom) to abort the baby and sterilize the parents to prevent the dark future. The president refuses on moral grounds. Meanwhile, Cornelius unintentionally kills their hospital orderly. So, he and Zira escape into the night. Zira becomes too disabled with contractions to continue. Cornelius finds Stephanie. She and Lewis take them to a circus run by Armando (Ricardo Montalban). There, Zira gives birth to her baby chimp. Just before the police close in, Zira, Cornelius and baby Milo escape again into the night. Before they leave, Zira says goodbye to Heloise (a "real" chimp) and her baby. Lewis directs them to an abandoned oil tanker to hide in until the search subsides. Eventually Hasslein finds them on the ship. He corners Zira and shoots her, then shoots the bundle of "Milo". Cornelius shoots Hasslein with a gun Lewis gave him. Police sniper kill Cornelius. Zira drops dead Milo into the harbor, then goes to die on dead Cornelius. Cut to Armando's circus striking camp for the winter. Heloise's baby is wearing the St. Francis medal Armando gave him. Baby chimp speaks. "Mama, mama." Fade to black, roll credits.

Why is this movie fun?
Turning the by-now-classic original Planet of the Apes plot inside out, is kind of fun all by itself. Director Don Taylor, with much experience directing for television, keeps the pace brisk and action moving. Some of it may be predictable, but it's never stale.

Cultural Connection
There is a steady undercurrent of commentary on racism throughout EFPA. This, it shares with the prior two films. The allegory is made even more apparent when Cornelius describes how (in the first timeline) apes were slaves of humans, doing their menial work, etc. But the apes of the year 250 (or so) organized themselves and revolted. Many of the scenes where the humans are condescending or insulting or prejudiced to Cornelius and Zira can easily be seen as racism allegory -- still a touchy issue after the Civil Rights clashes of the 60s.

Notes
Role Reversal -- The story in EFPA is rather intentionally the mirror image of the first film -- to a large extent, but not completly. Strangers land on a planet, pretend to be mute amid "lower" animals who can speak. The planet's authorities are philosophically disturbed by the newcomers and want them dead. There is a grand chase. There is a recast of the scene where words are first spoken. There is a council who refuse to accept the inconvenient truth. There are a couple of sympathetic doctors who help the newcomers escape.

Sequel Certainty -- The ending of EFPA is clearly constructed to allow a sequel. Zira swapped her advanced-chimp baby with the chimp Heloise's plain-baby chimp. Veteran movie watchers usually see this twist coming. The fourth film, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes ('72) would, indeed, pick up on the grown offspring of Cornelius and Zira 20 years later, though he would be renamed "Caesar". He would be played by Roddy McDowall, though, so son sounds like father.

Plot Holes? -- Some viewers find it too much of a stretch that Dr. Milo could fix up and fly Taylor's space ship, AND that they'd be thrown back in time to very near Taylor's time. Granted, Milo is a bit of a Dies ex Machina character, but a necessary one to get the plot role reversal. Cornelius does describe Milo as extremely intelligent. Consider too, that the backwards technological state of the Apes' world of 3952 may be due more to brutish "gorilla" influence than the chimps' lack of ability. Two years are said to have elapsed between Taylor's mission and Brent's. Ample time for the science chimps to have salvaged Taylor's ship (which did land intact), and figure it out. They didn't have to invent it, just figure out how to fly it. Given the deadly war that loomed in the second film, it's not too surprising that Milo opted to escape in the ship. Perhaps the plan was to set down on some other part of the planet -- far from the war. Instead, the shock wave from the nuke blast is the magic catalyst that hurls the ship back in time. Incredible, yes, but no less incredible than the never-explained force that brought Taylor there in the first place.

Pre-Terminator -- Hasslein argues with the president, that they (the humans of 1973) must kill the unborn baby to prevent the rise of the planet of the apes (and subjugation of humans). The president objects that he's promoting assassination. Hasslein counters that the Allies tried to assassinate Hitler (so it must be an okay tool whenever desired -- a curious logic there). The president then quips, would it have been okay to kill Adolf in his childhood, or kill his mother before she bore him, or Hitler's ancestors before her? In this exchange, we get a glimpse of the time-convolutions to come in movies like The Terminator and many more.

Pre-PETA -- Much of the film tries to be a wagging finger of shame for how people treat animals. While implied subtly in the first film, the drum is beaten loud and several times in EFPA.

Holes in Darwin -- As much as the Apes movies are thought to be pro-evolution, just about everything about them undermines the comfy classic darwinist construct. In the original movie timeline, apes were taken in as pets (since all the dogs and cats were killed by a plague). In 200 years they were speaking. In 300 they were a slave class that revolted. This is not the slow-and-steady mutation model at work. Then there is the quasi-divine interjection in the new timeline. Plain chimps, when bred with Milo's future-chimp DNA, become the super chimps. They didn't evolve either. There was an outside intervention. Slow-and-steady does make for boring movies, but perhaps writers (and viewers) also secretly have trouble accepting the classic model.

Bottom line? EFPA is a cut above most sequels and far above most second-sequels. The story is familiar, since it is the first movie told in an alternate universe sort of way. There is little in the way of special effects. EFPA is not especially science-y for a fiction, but plays as more of a suspense drama. Fans of the franchise seem to enjoy this third installment. It does require familiarity with both prior films, though. Seen out of sequence, it won't flow as well.

Alien Terror

The second of Boris Karloff's "last" sci-fi films was Alien Terror (AT) It was shot mostly in Mexico as one of four Columbia cheapies, AT's Mexican title was "Invasion Siniestra". This was the weaker of the two. It still had Juan Ibanez as one of the writers, and Jack Hill as one of the directors, but new collaborators did not improve the team. Set sometime in the late 1800s, the story is a patchwork of alien-takeovers, sabotage and a psychopathic woman-killer. The killer is played by Yerye Beirute, who also played Karloff's dim assistant in the sister film, The Fear Chamber

Quick Plot Synopsis
Dr. John Mayer (Karloff) and his assistant, Dr. Isabel Reed conduct their experiment but the chamber produces an explosive " beam" straight up through the roof and out into space. This attracts the attention of some aliens in a saucer. They land and decide to destroy the beam machine for the safety of the universe.They need a human to "inhabit" and control to carry out the sabotage. They select Thomas, a psychopathic killer of women, because he has a weak, (controllable) mind. Mayer performs his ray demonstration successfully for a group of dignitaries and generals. Possessed-Thomas enters later, giving a "gift" to Mayer. In the box is a glowing blob alien that inhabits Mayer too. The two of them then set about changing the machine to be a spectacular failure, so mankind will never try it again. Isabel and Mayer's pretty blonde niece, Laura, are suspicious of the creepy Thomas. Isabel sneaks off with some of the alien's advanced math. Thomas keeps being creepy and kills a couple more women. He kills Isabel too. Laura confronts Thomas too, so he starts strangling her. Paul (handsome hero who likes Laura) comes in, saves Laura and fights Thomas. Mayer, whose mind struggles against his alien controller, turns on the ray machine and zaps Thomas in the face. Badly hurt, Thomas goes outside to moan, wail and get killed by the mob of angry villagers. The glowing blob alien leaves Mayer and inhabits Laura. She tries to get to the machine, but Mayer knocks her out. Mayer has her lying on a table, about to kill her with his ray (and the alien). This bluffs the glowing alien blob to come out of her and sit (handily) in the focusing ring of the ray machine. Mayer sets the machine to overload and all three leave. Boom, explosion, sparks and fire. The house is in flames. Mayer muses that he learned a lot of things from his alien "guest" that will help mankind, but they must never mess with "the ray" again or the aliens will return. The aliens leave in their saucer vowing that mankind shall never get nuclear technology. Roll credits. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Almost all the fun of AT is in Boris Karloff. Despite the absurd script and his failing health, he delivers his lines with sober sincerity. Some of the tropes are of nostalgic value too. A lone genius working in a remote mansion, using bailing wire and bricks, creates a nuclear energy beam -- ah, but aliens from a saucer, inhabit human bodies to try and destroy his machine. All very 50s.

Cold War Angle
Once you clear away the psycho-killer fluff in the story, the remainder is classic 50s cautionary tale about the dangers of nuclear power. Aliens arrive (like Klaatu) because mankind is not responsible enough to handle such power. The aliens succeed in stopping Mayer's ray from becoming a weapon, but apparently did not return to mess with The Manhattan Project.

Notes
Klaatu As Pod Person -- AT is a curious hybrid of The Day the Earth Stood Still ('51) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('56). Instead of the benign Klaatu, we get "sinister" aliens who inhabit humans to prevent mankind from developing nuclear power. The energy-beings taking over human bodies is also reminiscent of the Diaphinoids from the Gamma One film, War of the Planets ('66) and Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires ('65)

Plot Conflict -- It's almost painfully apparent that the writers, (Juan Ibanez, Karl Schanzer and Luis Vergara) were telling two different stories. One is the sci-fi story of aliens, take-overs and ray weapons. The other was a twisted tale of a psychopath who compulsively killed young women. AT's runtime would have been far too short for a feature film with only the sci-fi parts. Instead of developing the usual other subplots (romance, professional betrayal, international spies, etc.) the writers opted for gruesome killings. Odd and unnecessary plot elements include: Isabel being scarred from some earlier experiment, yet "hot", cleavage-y and lonely; Thomas having a limping girlfriend who knows he's a killer but loves him anyway (?) but he kills her at the aliens' urgings (why?), catacombs as meeting social place, pretty blonde adult daughters of villagers who wander around alone in the woods even though many women have been killed already -- yet after several are killed, the villagers still haven't called in the police.

Don't Need No Body -- A plot quirk which was poorly explained (or not thought out) suggests that the aliens could not directly affect things on earth because they were "pure thought." This is why they needed to inhabit Thomas and Mayer. That doesn't quite explain the silver-suit pretty-boy alien. He had a body. It's almost suggested that the silver alien might be visible only to Thomas, so he doesn't really have a body, just a projected vision of one. The trouble with that theory is that Silver Boy hands Thomas a box. He could affect matter then. Perhaps Silver Boy is an inhabited other-alien-race body needed to pilot the ship full of thought beings. (because they couldn't reach the pedals).

Sounds Wrong -- Listen for an odd bit of dubbing when Mayer finishes his demonstration for the generals. Still with his welding helmet on, a voice -- very much NOT Boris Karloff -- says, "This is our gift to the future, gentlemen. A way to destroy obstacles in the path of progress." Then Boris takes off the helmet and it's his voice again. What was all THAT about? A sound edit that needed fixing after Boris had died? Surely someone could have been found with a voice closer to Karloff's. A continuity error where the alien was supposed to be inhibiting Mayer? (this happens later). It's just odd.

Bottom line? AT is a very strange movie, almost more determined to be about Thomas and his compulsion to kill young women, than it was about aliens. The alien take-over part is of some interest, even if most of that story is told by Boris giving exposition. Viewers not fond of murder movies will probably want to skip AT. Fans of alien take-over films might find some redeeming value. Fans of Karloff get a rare glimpse of the man in his final year. Obviously weak and frail, he still had great stage presence.

The Fear Chamber

In 1968, Columbia Pictures partnered with a mexican studio (Azteca) to produce four ultra-cheap films. All four starred the aged Boris Karloff. His health was very poor (he would die of emphysema less than a year later), so his parts were shot in Hollywood, with Karloff mostly seated or lying down. The bulk of each film was shot in Mexico. The two sets edited together into a movie. The Fear Chamber (TFC) is one of those two sci-fi cheapies. They would be released in America in 1971.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A research team is sent by Dr. Karl Mantell (Karloff) to a deep mexican cave to investigate the source of mysterious signals they picked up in Los Angeles. The team finds the source: a rock that is alive! (Fast forward a few months) At a "Beneficent Foundation: Foreign Employment for Young Women", hapless candidates stay overnight. Once asleep, she is transferred to a stereotypic house of horrors, complete with snakes, skeletons, creepy people and druids performing live sacrifice ceremonies. When she faints, she is whisked to an operating room where some of her blood is withdrawn. Mantell and his team extract a rare hormone called Vericulon, produced by the human body when in great fear. This is what they must feed the intelligent rock to keep it alive. Mantell's daughter, Corine, and her boyfriend-scientist Mark, don't like the rock thing. Karl thinks it has valuable secrets about the universe, but if they don't learn some secrets soon, he will call off the experiment. Karl is bed-ridden with an illness. His assistant Helga and the lumbering Roland don't want the experiment to stop. Helga senses some opportunistic power value. The rock has some telepathic connection with Roland, and promises him diamonds. A nosy young woman ( a reporter? private investigator?) sneaks into the rock's chamber is is taken by one of it's tentacles. Her body instantly ages. Rocky is happy now. Helga and Roland conspire to feed the rock more pretty expendable women. Rocky has taken over control of the lab's computer and prints out tantalizing bits of the formula for diamonds. Roland dispatches the other creepy weird minions, then suspects that Helga is trying to cheat him out of his diamonds. He throws her to Rocky. Karl and Corine enter. Rocky grabs Corine, but Karl tells her to have no fear and Rocky will let go. It does. Mark and Karl decide that Rocky must die, so work on the computer to "play back" Rocky's growth. It shrivels to a charcoal briquette. Meanwhile, Roland is in the original cave looking for his diamonds. Other rock-things rise up and get him. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
TFC is just so bizarre that you can't help but watch, mouth agape, wondering what the heck is going on. The film is solidly in the Plan 9 sub-genre of oddities. Karloff manages (despite being weak and bed-ridden) to give the film some dignity.

Cultural Connection
The Return of Decadence -- Movies since the very late 60s would get raunchier and grosser. TFC is a poor man's sampler platter of things to come -- more blood, more gore, more nudity, torture and death. This, because the old self-censorship guidelines of the MPAA were abandoned in 1966. The old "Hays Code" was a list of restrictions the movie industry imposed upon themselves. They eager to dispel the (ticket-buying) public's perception that movies were full of moral corruption. Indeed, during the "Roaring" 1920s, nudity and violence were becoming more common. In 1930, many studios formed the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association. (the MPPDA, later the MPAA) The Code prohibited, among other things: profanity, nudity, illegal drug use, perversion, etc. Gray areas included gore, violence and sex. Too long of a kiss, or too tight of a hug sometimes crossed the line and had to be edited or re-shot. The MPAA "seal" in the opening credits was the public's assurance that the movie's content was family fare.
By the late 60s, with the "Sexual Revolution" and all, the ticket-buying public were already corrupted and clamoring for more raw sex and gory violence. The MPAA abandoned the old Hays Code in favor of the letter rating system, G, PG, R, etc.

Notes
Four Bad Brothers -- In 1968, Columbia and Azteca shot four ultra-cheap films back to back in just a few weeks. The four were intended as cheap drive-in fodder. House of Evil and Island of the Snake People were simple (bad) horror films. Incredible Invasion (aka Alien Terror) and. The Fear Chamber (aka The Torture Chamber) were horror/sci-fi hybrids. The four films were co-directed and co-written by Jack Hill (except for Alien Terror) and Juan Ibenez for the mexican footage. The four films shared some actors too. Hill directed the parts with Karloff, in Hollywood. Ibenez directed the rest in Mexico.

Rocky Life -- The notion of a "living" rock creature was not common in '68, but not entirely new either. Star Trek (TOS) had "Horta", a silicon rock creature in the episode "Devil in the Dark" ('67). Also in 1967 was Night of the Big Heat which featured intelligent rock aliens. Before those, however, was Hammer's Jimmy Sangster, who had his living magma thing in 1956 in X: The Uknown. His rock-thing also craved nourishment that humans had (isotopes) and was theorized to be an ancient form of earth life which evolved deep within the earth.

Sad Scientist -- Karloff plays the classic Frankenstein scientist. On the one hand, he is driven to uncover "secrets" which will benefit all of mankind. On the other hand, he is so blinded by his goal that he's able to do terrible things -- like terrorizing young women then stealing some of their blood. Karl shares with many of the other "mad" scientist characters, that moment of sadness when he realizes that his wonderful dream for humanity yielded only a deadly monster.

Strange Sampler -- Hill and Ibenez wrote into TFC's screenplay a bevy of bizarre characters. Their various shades of strange are not explained, or even necessary for the plot. Never mind the question of why a scientist would have such a motley crew. TFC has a voyeur dwarf, a lecherous men in sunglasses and a turban, a closet sadist woman scientist with either vague lesbian or misogynist leanings, a lumbering idiot fascinated with diamonds.

Stripper Anyone? -- The American version (of 1971) is said to have an edited version of the scene in which Helga and Roland bring a stripper down to the rock's chamber. They play some clashy saxophone music and she bumps and grinds down to her black underwear. In the American version, as soon as she gets her bra off, Rocky grabs her with a tentacle before any nudity occurs. The mexican version has some bare chest shots before Rocky makes his move. Apparently Rocky liked other hormones than just fear hormones. The scene itself is a throwaway, doing nothing to advance the plot.

Bottom line? TFC is a very low-budget scattershot movie in the spirit of 50s B movies. Fans of Ed Wood Jr. sorts of movies can enjoy its weird mix of exploitation and stereotypes. Anyone looking for thoughtful sci-fi will go away hungry. Fans of the great Boris Karloff can smile at how he can bring some class to even a low-brow production like this.

When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth

Following up on Hammer Film's hit, One Million Years B.C., ('66) which starred Rachel Welch, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (WDRE) was a worthy sequel. For some reason, dinosaur and caveman movies are tagged as sci-fi, when they are really just fantasy films. But, since they show up on sci-fi movie lists, they are included here too. Victoria Veltri stars as the leading cave girl, Sanna. Robin Hawdon stars as the leading cave guy, Tara. Despite the title, the story is more about cavemen not getting along too well with each other. Val Guest, writer of the Quatermass stories, wrote and directed.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The narrator tells us that this is a time of beginnings, of darkness and light. The beginnings of man living with man, of love and fear of the unknown. The Rock tribe is gathered on a high cliff at dawn, to sacrifice three blond women to their sun (god). Just as the sun comes up, a fuzzy partially-formed moon appears in the sky, causing great wind. Many are blown over the cliff, but one of the sacrificial women, Sanna (Vetri) falls in the sea and lives. She is picked up by a raft of fishermen from the nearby Beach tribe. Having their human sacrifice survive is bad magic (apparently), so Kingsor and some Rock men come to fetch her. At the beach village, blonde Sanna is a curiosity. Tara (Hawdon) takes a shine to Sanna, much to the jealous displeasure of his already-girlfriend, Ayak. She stirs up the other women to declare Sanna to be "Neecro" (bad magic). Sanna escapes into the desert. The delegation of Rock men arrive looking for Sanna. They search but are attacked by a chasmosaurus. Sanna hides in the woods and sleeps in an open dinosaur eggshell. Mamma dinosaur arrives and assumes Sanna to be one of her babies. Tara is carried off by a pterosaur to it's pinnacle nest. He kills it, but also sees Sanna and Mamma dinosaur. He tries to save her, but Sanna's in charge. She takes him to her cave. Caveman style romance ensues. A Rock tribe man saw where they were. More men come. They see the smoke from Sanna's fire and have the two surrounded. They escape by swimming out into the surf. Tara is captured. Sanna is saved by Momma dinosaur. Tara is to be killed for being Neecro, but the execution is interrupted by a tsunami. Everyone runs in circles screaming. Giant crabs appear and attack people. Sanna appears, frees Tara and they take to a raft. Kingsor tries to halt the incoming wave with authoritative arm raising. It fails. Tara, Sanna and a couple from the Rock tribe survived on the raft. The fuzzy moon becomes the solid moon. They watch a very fast lunar eclipse. Ramp up triumphal music, roll credits. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Aside from all the shapely cave girls in skimpy costumes, the dinosaur and live-action integration is pretty well done. The landscape of the Canary Islands lends visual appeal too. It is interesting to see how modern tastes and socio-political cause d'jour write (or re-write) history.

Cultural Connection
Movies about primitive man battling dinosaurs have been around since silent films. The Lost World 1925 is the best known. Despite the lecturing of evolution pedants, the populist mind has no problem with caveman vs. dinosaur. Some argue that this popular comfort with the idea suggests a lingering "race memory" -- that maybe early man did have to deal with dinosaurs.

Notes
Going, Going, Gone -- Comparing caveman movies over the previous 50 years, one can see how cave clothing got skimpier and skimpier. In 1923 cavewomen in Buster Keaton's Three Ages wore ragged-edged leopard skin dresses with one strapless shoulder!. In 1940, cave-babe of One Million B.C., Carol Landis, wore a ragged-edged leather miniskirt dress. In 1966, cave-hottie Rachel Welch wore an even more ragged leather one-piece swimsuit with many cutaways. In 1971's WDRE, cave-vixen Victoria Vetri (playmate of the year, 1968) wore essentially a bandeau bikini. There wasn't really enough of it to make ragged. In the uncut version of the film, she wore even less than that, appearing nude in the "love" scene and the skinny dipping scene.

Tough Love -- Notable in WDRE are depictions of tough caveman "love." One Rock tribe man carries off a screaming Rock woman to his cave. She fights (sort of) and screams a lot. He tosses her onto his pile of hay and rips off her top. She kinda likes things rough, apparently, as she smiles and makes "love me" eyes at him. In another scene, Tara feels romantic for Sanna in their cave hideaway. So, in suave caveman style, he grabs her by the hair and rips off her cave-ini. (Good thing cave-girl-wear fastened with easy snaps.) He tosses her nude form onto a pile of furs. She kinda likes it and makes "love me" eyes. Modern male story writers liked to assume that primitive women were turned on with some roughness.

Fading Idealism -- In1940's One Million B.C. and the 1966 remake, One Million Years B.C., the story features a mean tribe, the Rock men, and a nicey-nice tribe, the Shell men. In OMBC and OMYBC, the Rock tribe are projected "capitalist" (selfish) while the Shell tribe is spun as "socialist" (sharing). WDRE alters that dualism a bit such that the Rock tribe are ritualistic and authoritarian. The Shell tribe are still nice and communal, but not as clearly cast as the purely nice ones. The pessimism of the 70s was seeping into cinematic caveman culture.

New Moon -- An odd feature in WDRE is that it purports to depict when the moon was formed. The vague glowing mass just arrives all of a sudden -- interrupting the Rock tribe's (wasteful) sacrifice of three pretty blondes. The fuzzy moon creeps out the Shell tribe too, so they also blame Sanna for it. (Can't a blonde get a break?) Near the end of the story, the cloudy mass suddenly coalesces into the moon we all know and love. This causes the fateful tsunami that wipes out the old authoritarian establishment, making the world anew for the lovers. If evolutionists have trouble with dinosaurs and cavemen, astronomers will have seizures over this fanciful story of the moon's creation.

Pre-Leet -- A minor point is the name of the Rock tribe leader -- Kingsor. This is so Leet, but more than ten years before Leet appeared. Could this indicate that the seeds of Leet were lying dormant in mankind, just waiting for the 80s BBS environment to make it sprout?

Bottom line? There's really nothing science about the fiction in WDRE. It's a fantasy story. Fans of sci-fi with aliens, saucers, rockets or nukes, will find their cup empty. Fans of dinosaur films get some action. Fans of films with glistening young women in bikinis will find their cup overflowing.

The Andromeda Strain

Universal Pictures put out a major A-grade sci-fi film in early 1971. The Andromeda Strain was a "hard" science fiction story, based on a story by author Michael Crichton (later of Jurassic Park fame) told as a thriller by director Robert Wise (of Day The Earth Stood Still fame). By design, the cast includes less-famous, but still solid acting talent such as Arthur HIll, David Wayne, James Olson and Kate Reid. The premise -- a dangerous germ from space -- was not new, but the story is given a modern update. Bio-hazards were becoming a rival to nuke-hazards for movie themes. There is much available on the internet about TAS, so this review won't try to cover all aspects of the film.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Agents sent to recover a returned satellite discover that everyone in the small town near the landing site is dead. Even the agents die. Dr.Stone (Hill) and Dr. Hall (Olson) explore the town in hazmat suits. Everyone dead of blood clotted to powder -- except an old wino and a crying infant. All are rush away to a remote and secret underground facility built for just such a crisis. Stone and Hall are joined by Dr. Dutton (Wayne) and Dr. Leavitt (Reid). They go through elaborate and extensive decontamination procedures until they reach the lowest and cleanest level. The base has a nuke at its bottom, set to blow up in 5 minutes if there is any contamination leak. Hall is entrusted with the disarming key. The scientists set about trying to discover the nature of the alien germ. They eventually find and isolate it, but does not fit the pattern of earth life. It is crystal-based, not needing light, or oxygen or food, etc. On the surface, the germ mutates such that it consumes synthetic rubber instead of blood. Planes crash when pilots lose their oxygen. Communications with the base are down, so word doesn't get to them about the mutation. The scientist discover that the germ, the Andromeda Strain, "feeds" on energy, so a nuke would only force feed it. The germ in the base also mutates and eats through rubber seals. The team figure out that the germ can only survive in a narrow ph range. That's why the wino and the baby survived. At the containment breach, the nuke arms itself. Hall, with the key, is sealed off from a disarming station. He must climb through an access tunnel protected with lasers and deadly gas. He just barely makes it in time, with 8 seconds left. Word of the ph factor is relayed. Cloud seeding over the germ "colony" causes acid rain that kills them off. The world is saved, but would it be ready for the next time? Would it? The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The thriller format, and the race-against-time tropes make for good entertainment. The science focus in the "how dunnit" plot gives the story a cerebral quality.

Cultural Connection
It's da gubbment, I tell ya. The Vietnam era caused a rift in the people-and-government. Gone, was the cozy comfort of old sci-fi movies when the government (usually the army) would step in as savior. In TAS, there are undertones of government having brought on the problem and maybe plotting to do something even worse. As the Cold War angst over nukes faded, worries that there may be an enemy within were freer to grow.

Notes
Strong Family -- One component of TAS's success comes from the people making it. They experienced in some major sci-fi films. Robert Wise directed, as he had The Day the Earth Stood Still ('51). But he had done other big name films since then, like West Side Story and The Sound of Music. Special Effects man, Doug Trumbull was Effects Supervisor for Kubrick's 2001 ('68). He would go on to do Close Encounters and the Star Trek movie. Boris Leven, who designed the 2001-esque sets for "Wildfire" had been doing sci-fi set design since Donovan's Brain ('53) and Invaders from Mars ('53). With such a talented team, it would have been hard for TAS to fail.

Legacy Dangers -- The trope that space was a source of bio-dangers was one of the classic tropes in sci-fi. Radiation was the usual danger, but biological dangers were a close second. This historical foundation may have aided TAS's success. The Quatermass Xperiment ('55) posited an alien germ which came back with an astronaut, then grew into a deadly blob monster. Space Master X-7 ('58) featured a fungus which returned on a satellite and grew into a deadly monster. The Blob ('58) featured a very non-humanoid alien coming to earth on a meteorite and growing to a killer blob monster. Part of the time, we imaged dangers from space as big strong monsters. Sometimes we imaged it as tiny invaders.

Conspiracy? -- Hinted at, though never confirmed, was the implication that "Scoop 7" was sent into space to gather alien germs. The Dr. Stone character seems to know more than he lets on. The "Wildfire" lab just as equivocal too. Maybe it was all set to identify and counter act an (eartly) enemy biological attack. Maybe it was built to do just what it did -- study a deadly extra-terrestrial germ.

Crystal-Life -- Central to Crichton's story was exploring the notion of how an alien life form might be very different from earth forms. The Andromeda Strain is curiously reminiscent of that 1957 sleeper, Monolith Monsters. In MM, crystals from space also land, and grow and kill. The race against time, before an ever-growing crystal theaters the world, is also reminiscent of 1953's Magnetic Monster. Granted, in the latter MM, the "isotope" was earthly, but the race to neutralize it felt very similar.

Bottom line? TAS is an A-grade benchmark for sci-fi in the post-2001 era. It is an excellent example of that rare genre -- "Hard" science fiction. The thriller aspect gives the movie appeal beyond sci-fi fans. The pace of the first half may seem slow to modern viewers, but the story never actually lags. Only occasionally does 70s technology look dated (such as the teletype). The special effects are all physical or optical, yet look pretty good, even in the CGI-era. All in all, the film ages very well. TAS is a must-see for fans of old (or not so old) sci-fi.

THX 1138

After our brief respite in the comedy sci-fi of the mid-60s, it's time to return to the dystopia of the 70s. THX 1138 (THX) was the first film George Lucas directed. He developed the story and co-wrote the screenplay. Robert Duval stars in the tittle role. Donald Pleasence plays SEN 5241.Lucas expanded a college film project of his into a feature film. The result is a dark view of a stark future. There will be many dystopia themed films in the 70s. THX is one of the more enigmatic ones.

Quick Plot Synopsis
(Note: Much of the power in THX lies in visuals and subtle small things, so this bare-bones plot can't do it justice)
The film opens with a teaser-trailer for a Buck Rogers episode announcing how the marvels of the future have not changed Buck. THX is an assembly line worker at a plant that assembles the robot policemen. It turns out his room mate, LUH, has been willfully not taking her meds. Off her meds, she has developed feelings for THX, so she secretly weaned him off of his meds too. Emerging clear-headed. THX discovers feelings for LUH too. They make love. Their new relationship is illegal. She suggests they escape. THX is sure they can keep it a secret. At his factory, a man named SEN has arranged for LUH to be sent away and THX to be his new room mate. THX reports this violation of the rules. At work, THX makes many mistakes, since he's off his meds. A central control dispatcher turns on the Mind Block for THX, causing him to nearly blow up the plant. He is arrested for "drug evasion." He is tried as a subversive. He is taken to a solitary prison of a vast infinite whiteness. The authorities mess with controlling his mind and body. LUH comes to him (a dream?) and they make love again. RoboCops take him away and put him into a white prison with other inmates. SEN is among them, because of THX's report. SEN talks of escape plans. Others babble rhetoric. THX just decides to walk out of infinity. SEN follows. After a long while, they encounter another man, SRT, who has a delusion that he's only a hologram. SRT shows them the way out. The hatch opens to a crowded concourse. SEN becomes separated. THX and SRT get into a bio-lab with fetuses in jars, then a computer bank. The robot cops search, but they evade. SEN almost escapes, but becomes frightened at the prospect and returns. The robot cops pick him up. THX and SRT find cars at a parking deck. THX takes off in one. SRT can't get his started at first. When he does, he immediately crashes and dies. Two cops on motorcycles pursue THX in the tunnels. THX eventually gets away. The robot cops are recalled, as his capture has exceeded the allotted budget. THX climbs an air shaft to emerge into a big red sunset. Roll credits. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Dystopia movies without happy endings are not "fun", but they can be stimulating. Lucas a rich vision of a bleak future. THX is a very visual film. There are themes and concepts to keep many conversations going. It interesting to muse how much closer we are in the 21st century to THX's "Future".

Cultural Connection
This film is one of the echos of Stanley Kubrick's landmark film, 2001. Lucas' view of The Future shares the antiseptic spartanism. By the time of Star Wars, Lucas would have a less terrible view of The Future.

Notes
Student Project -- The seeds for THX was created by Lucas in 1966 while a student in college. There, he created a 14 minute film titled, THX1138 4EB. It was basically about the man THX fleeing through hallways, monitored by the authorities and pursued. The film ends when THX goes out a door into bright daylight. There is no back story provided for why THX is escaping. The big impression is of a future society in which the government monitors everything and controls almost everything. All the citizens except THX and dutifully milling about. THX is the lone independent.

Big Step-Brother -- Lucas' screenplay borrows from and melds some prior dystopic visions of the future. There are the omnipresent present eyes of The Authorities and State control of its citizens as in Orwell's 1984. In THX, Big Brother is more visible and turns out to be layers of middle-level functionaries, dispassionately carrying out their tasks. As in Orwell's vision, love is illegal and the two main characters are in trouble for rebellion via emotion.

Brave New World -- As in Brave New World, the population is controlled by drugs and government has taken a corporate spin. Reproduction is controlled by the State.

Metropolis -- As in Fritz Lang's 1927 film, the mindless workers toil in an underground city. One scene, in which several of the robot assembly workers are working in their stations, is very visual reminiscent of Lang's workers at their stations on the Moloch machine.

Escape? -- The film ends with THX climbing up to the surface, silhouetted ageist an extreme telephoto sunset. The starkness, combined with the mutant animals he encounters near the surface, suggests that the earth's surface was rendered uninhabitable. Perhaps THX escaped the frying pan, only to find the fire and not a blessed freedom.

Christ-In-A-Box -- Lucas has his citizens use phonebooth-like confessionals which sport a large image of Christ (from a 15th century painting) The style of the art is bland and emotionless. This fits the canned therapist voice of OMM 0910, which periodically says "I see," "I understand," and "…could you be more specific…" without regard for what the confessor is saying. The State uses these non-annonymous confessionals as a source of incriminating evidence. The facade of a religion is a tool of The State. (This being what the framers of the US Constitution intended to prevent with the First Amendment.)

Bottom line? THX is not an easy popcorn movie. Like 2001, it takes some concentration and connecting of dots. Lucas tells much of his story is tiny nuggets scattered throughout. These can be easy to miss for viewers accustomed to shallow action flicks. Missing a few dots renders the whole movie incomprehensible. This is why THX has as many vocal detractors as it does fans. Viewers fond of dystopia films will enjoy it. Those fond of happy endings and tied up story threads, will likely not be so fond of it.