When I was in 8th grade, I was already going through “the change”.  It was a very confusing time for me because my Catholic upbringing was telling me to ignore that part of my anatomy south of my waist, while “’that part” would transform at the most inopportune moments and make its presence impossible to ignore.

The worst example of this came one day during first aid class. Once a week the nuns sent our class to the auditorium where we learned the basics of lifesaving from a state certified instructor. The teacher (an old timer who forgot what it meant to be 13) alphabetically broke the class into two person teams, one boy and one girl. I was working with the most physically developed young girl in our class, and just looking at her usually got “that part” all worked up. One week it was time to practice CPR (an early version of it anyway), so the girl had to lie down, while I was told to kneel in front of her, open my legs and allow her head to lie between my thighs. I then had to lean forward, interlock my hands and physically place them on her chest to simulate chest compressions (remember these were the days before resuscitation dummies were developed). Being a young gentleman, I gingerly placed my hands on her rib cage. When the instructor came by to check my position, he angrily grabbed my hands, telling me I would break her ribs with my hands where they were. He then forcefully moved them backward so that they were right on her sternum (and lightly touching her breasts). The combination of her head between my legs and my hands against her breasts was more than “that part” could stand, and it stiffly and forcefully made its presence known. I spent the remainder of the class hunched over, in a vain attempt to hide my embarrassment. After more than 40 years, I think my psyche is still damaged from that episode.

After that incident, I noticed that I began to identify very closely with movie heroes who went through physical changes. And during the 1950s there were an abundance of films where the hero would transform into a horrible monster. Usually the event occurred during the pursuit of some lofty scientific goal, or when an evil scientist who was out to prove his insane theories to a doubting world, needed an experimental subject. For whatever reason, these movies were usually made on a low budget but often had the benefit of one or two good actors who could portray real emotion onscreen.  So let’s take a look at five economical examples of the “men into monster” genre from the fabulous 1950s.

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1. THE WEREWOLF (Columbia, 1956) - Director: Fred F. Sears

In the Pacific Northwest town of Mountain Crest, a stranger named Duncan Marsh (Steven Ritch) stumbles into a local bar and buys a drink. He asks the bartender if he knows him. When a mugger tries to rob him of his meager pocket money, Marsh and the thug fight in a nearby alley. Only Marsh emerges and he’s become a fearsome snarling beast – a werewolf! Apparently Marsh was involved in an accident recently and was treated by Dr. Morgan Chambers (George M. Lynn). Chambers is perfecting a serum derived from wolves that will protect people from atomic radiation!  Marsh unwittingly became his first test subject. Afraid that his secret research will be exposed if Marsh is captured, Chambers and his assistant travel to Mountain Crest under the guise of helping the local sheriff (Don Megowan) catch the werewolf. With the local authorities and the scientist gunning for him, Duncan Marsh realizes that the sands of his hourglass are running precariously low.

The Werewolf is a prime example of an exploitation film. It is an efficient and entertaining popcorn movie that gets in and gets out without any frills. Its chief asset is a wonderful and genuine performance from Steven Ritch as the tormented Marsh. Although not the star (Don Megowan is the nominal lead), the film revolves around Ritch. He conveys true anguish and terror at what he’s become. And it is his scenes that hold the film together.  While the werewolf makeup is merely average, director Fred F. Sears (who unfortunately died in 1957) puts together a couple of really great scare scenes. The first is the fight between Marsh and the mugger. Sears keeps the camera on the actors’ feet, so the audience can’t see Marsh change. It’s truly frightening when the monster then emerges from the darkness. The other great scene is when Dr. Chambers goes to the jail to silence Marsh forever. He enters Marsh’s cell and turns the sleeping man over only to come face to face with the monster he created. I remember literally jumping out of my chair when I first saw that scene. Released as the second feature to Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (which Sears directed as well), The Werewolf is a great low budget gem from the 1950s.

Quotable Movie Line: “Doctors should be able to cure more than broken bones and runny noses.  I want to cure an entire world. I still have my ideals.”

2. MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS (Universal International, 1958) - Director: Jack Arnold

At a local university, biology professor Dr. Donald Blake (Arthur Franz) is thrilled to receive his latest specimen, a prehistoric coelacanth from Madagascar. But almost immediately after receiving it, strange things begin to happen. First a student’s dog drinks some of the water dripping from the coelacanth’s box. Almost immediately it grows fangs and proceeds to attack the student. Later Dr. Blake cuts himself on the sharp teeth of the prehistoric fish. He passes out and when he wakes up he finds his house vandalized and his friend’s young assistant dead. After that there are a series of gruesome murders all seemingly committed by a prehistoric brute with amazing strength. And after each attack, Dr. Blake wakes up with no short term memory (and a ripped shirt). Dr. Blake’s fiancée (Joanna Moore) begins to wonder if there may be a connection between her betrothed and the murders. And it seems that the local police investigator (Judson Pratt) is starting to wonder as well.

By the late 1950s Universal had given up its sci-fi pedigree. While they produced some classics earlier in the decade, most of their later productions were little more than exploitation B movies.  Monster on the Campus is a perfect example. It’s a by-the-numbers thriller with good production values, decent music and a capable supporting cast (Judson Pratt, Ross Elliott, and even 50s teen heartthrob Troy Donahue!), but the parts just don’t add up to anything special. It’s a strictly ho hum affair. This was the last Universal film directed by the great Jack Arnold and it’s one of his least interesting. While he sets up the everyday normalcy of campus life well in the early scenes, he generates very few thrills in the later fantastic ones. It actually seems as if Arnold himself is totally uninterested in the film. And that’s a shame. I always remember having trouble staying awake for Monster on the Campus no matter what hour of the day it was on. It’s the “man into monster” movie that works better than any pharmaceutical grade sleeping pill!

Quotable Movie Line: “Man is not only capable of change, but man alone, among all living creatures, can choose the direction in which that change will take place.”

3. THE HIDEOUS SUN DEMON (Pacific International, 1958) - Director: Robert Clarke

Dr. Gil McKenna (Robert Clarke) receives an overdose of radiation while working at his prestigious research company (Atomic Research Inc. – really that’s what the company’s named!). He seems to miraculously recover, but several days later when exposed to the sun’s rays he turns into a monstrous lizard-like creature. It seems that his radiation poisoning has changed his genetic structure so that any intense exposure to sunlight will turn him into this walking nightmare. Gil withdraws from society and goes on a path of self destruction, drinking and carousing with nightclub singer Trudy (Nan Peterson). Despite his best efforts, he’s exposed to sunlight again, transforms, kills several citizens and becomes the most hunted man in Los Angeles. Can science and the love of Gil’s fiancée (Patricia Manning) save him before he’s blown away by the LAPD?

The Hideous Sun Demon is a legendary cheap monster movie that every baby boomer remembers well. Shot in LA over the course of 12 consecutive weekends, this no budget wonder played forever on the “Creature Features” movie shows during the 1960s.  This was B actor Robert Clarke’s Citizen Kane. He produced, directed, helped out on the screenplay and portrayed the doomed McKenna. Despite the obvious cheapness of the production and all the clichés, there’s grittiness to the location shooting that adds immensely to the film. While watching it you get the feeling you’re watching a TV police procedural. It’s great seeing Clarke as the Sun Demon running around LA.  And the Demon costume created by Richard Cassarino is as impressive as some of the other creature costumes of the decade. A lot of people make fun of The Hideous Sun Demon, and it’s a hard film to defend. But a lot of people also remember it fondly. Count me in with them.

Quotable Movie Line: “The radiation from that isotope caused a peculiar and subtle change in the cells of Dr. McKenna’s body…his whole appearance has changed into something scaly, almost lizard like.” 

4. THE FLY (20th Century Fox, 1958) - Director: Kurt Newman

Andre Delambre (David Hedison) is a dedicated young scientist. Andre lives with his wife Helen (Patricia Owens) and young son Philippe (Charles Herbert). Andre lets his brother Francois (Vincent Price) run the family business while he concentrates on pure research. He is trying to perfect a matter transmitter, which will allow a person to travel from place to place instantaneously. However, Andre is frustrated by the constant delays. One night when he thinks the machine is working perfectly, he places himself in the transmitter. However, Andre fails to see the small fly that has also entered the device. Tragedy ensues and Andre rematerializes with the head and hand of a fly. His only hope is if he or his devoted wife can find the fly that now bears his head and return it to Andre’s lab.

The Fly is simply one of the most gripping sci-fi films from the 1950s. It was such a prestigious film for its time that when it was first shown on network TV in the 1960s, it was given a premium nighttime slot, unheard of for a monster film. One of the joys in The Fly is that it takes its time to tell the story. Andre and Helen are such a likeable couple that their misfortune becomes doubly tragic. Here is this great researcher who wants nothing but good for mankind and he’s struck down horribly, while the shock of his affliction nearly drives his wife mad. The film was directed by Kurt Newman who also directed Rocketship XM and Kronos. Kronos did so well at the box office that 20th Century Fox chairman Spyros Skourus looked into doing another sci-fi film.  So Fox rolled the dice and The Fly paid off handsomely. All of the actors give good performances, but special honors have to go to David Hedison who has to mime once he becomes the fly. You can sense Andre’s frustration and growing fear as the insect part of him begins to take over. Featuring excellent Fox production values and a classy script by James Clavell (yes, that James Clavell), The Fly remains a great sci-fi movie.

Quotable Movie Line: “Help me, Helllp Meee!”

5. FIRST MAN INTO SPACE (MGM [UK], 1959) - Director: Robert Day

At a secret Air Force base in Arizona, Commander Chuck Prescott (Marshall Thompson) is overseeing the experimental Y-12 rocket program. The pilot of the Y-12 is none other than Lt. Dan Prescott (Bill Edwards), Chuck’s younger irresponsible brother. During flight Dan repeatedly disobeys orders and pushes the experimental craft past its limitations. Despite harsh warnings from his older sibling, Dan continues his reckless ways. Then on the next flight, tragedy strikes and the craft’s canopy is destroyed exposing Dan to the harsh near space environment. Chuck manages to regain control of the Y-12 from the ground, but when he gets to the crash site, Dan is gone. Just about the same time, a series of gruesome murders begin. It seems that there is a maniacal monster out there that needs human blood to survive. To Chuck’s horror he discovers that the monster is Dan who has been transformed by the space dust in the upper atmosphere. He’s now a deformed freak with a constant need for human blood. Chuck furiously tries to save his brother, but how does one change a monster back into a man?

First Man into Space freaked me out as a kid. It starts out as a straight military drama with two hard headed competitors who just happen to be brothers. Then after 30 minutes, it becomes a horror film as Dan emerges a bloodthirsty monster and proceeds to kill people left and right. I had never seen a film do that before. It was great. Director Robert Day does a terrific job keeping the viewer off guard, so that when the horror starts, it’s all the more intense and surprising. The mostly British cast is fine and Marshall Thompson is a steady leading man (as always). But it’s Bill Edwards who gives the best performance here. Despite being in a stiff rubber costume, Edwards does a great job conveying Dan’s agony and torment over his metamorphosis. First Man into Space is one of the most unusual sci-fi horror films from the 1950s. It’s a thrilling and scary adventure that still satisfies.

Quotable Movie Line: “I’ll get off your back as soon as you realize that we’re developing a piloted space plane and not a record-breaking hero!”


Of course, there are many more films to add to the man into monster sub-genre such as Roger Corman’s The Wasp Woman (1959), Gene Nelson’s The Hand of Death (1962) and Kenneth G. Crane’s The Manster (for a great review of The Manster, please see Duane Martin’s review at B-Movie Central). But when I need to get in touch with that 13-year-old inside me, these are the five that I think of and return to. After more than 50 years, most of them are still solid monster movies.

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Selected References:

Hankin, Mike. Ray Harryhausen – Master of the Majicks. Volume 2: The American Films. Los Angeles, California: Archive Editions, LLC. 2008.

Senn, Bryan and Johnson, John. Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company Inc. 1992.

Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies (Two Volume Set). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company Inc, 1982 and 1986.

Weaver, Tom. Attack of the Monster Movie Makers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. 1994.

Weaver, Tom. Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Flashbacks.  Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. 1998.
 

My name is Jason Lockard and as an football fanatic I love football films and with football season in full swing I thought ’d like to share with you a football classic I recently was treated to, it is 1940s Knute Rockne, All American! This is biopic of the Norte Dame football star and head coach Knute Rockne! Going into the production of this film Director Lloyd Bacon had a tough decision to make, who could play the great motivational coach Knute Rockne; Lloyd turned to The Great Pat O’ Brien!

Pat O'Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O'Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while attending Marquette Academy with fellow actor Spencer Tracy. Pat later attended Marquette University.

Pat O'Brien’s movie career took off and he soon appeared with James Cagney in nine feature films, including Angels with Dirty Faces in 1938. He began appearing in movies (many times playing Irish cops or priests) in the 1930s, starting with the role of ace reporter Hildy Johnson in the original version of The Front Page in 1931. He appeared in the highly successful 1946 suspense film, Crack-Up and played the lead in The Personality Kid. O'Brien may be best remembered for his role as a police detective opposite George Raft in Some Like It Hot, but his best role came in 1940 as he took the reigns and became the legendary coach Knute Rockne, All American, perhaps the most famous of all of the football coaches at Notre Dame, one of the most successful football programs in history.

Lars Rockne and his family, including his four year old son Knute, emigrate from Norway to Chicago 1892. After graduating High School Knute went to work to save his money so he could attend college and in his mid-twenties Knute finally attens obscure Notre Dame University, where he excels in football and chemistry. He and a teammate develop the forward pass as an offensive weapon while working as life guards on summer break and use it to upset heavily favored Army in a historic game. After graduation Rockne becomes a teacher while coaching part time. He professor tells him he could be a great scientist, but ultimately abandons academics to devote all his energies to football. Knute informs Father Callhan of his decision to take up coaching as his life’s work and than asks, “You think I'm making a mistake, don't you?” to which Father John Callahan replies “Anyone who follows the truth in his heart never makes a mistake.”

During his tenure as head coach at the school, he develops such outstanding players as George Gipp [portrayed memorably by Ronald Regan], who dies prematurely from a strep infection. While on his deathbed Regan as Gipp gives this memorable quote “Rock, sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper.“ This great quote earned the #89 on a poll of AFI 100 Years...100 Quotes! It’s been used time and time again including by Ronald Regan as a political slogan!

 Also during Rockne’s famed career were the Four Horseman while introducing many innovative tactics including the backfield shift. The football game action puts you right there on the field and makes you fell as though you’re a part of the team! Also look for a cameo by legendary football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg.

Rockne, known for his staccato motivational speeches, devotes his life to maintaining the integrity of the sport he loves and promoting it as an integral component in the development of the American character. This film accurately shows the life and times of one of the greatest football coaches ever.

In 1997, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry.

O'Brien's movie career more or less ended in the early 1950s. He had to move to the new media of television; O'Brien later wrote he was completely flummoxed about this in his autobiography The Wind At My Back. His close friend Spencer Tracy had to fight the studio to get a small role for O'Brien in Tracy's film The Last Hurrah in 1958.

Television audiences would see O’Brien in such shows as Crossroads, What’s my Line, Joyful Hour, In 1960-1961 O'Brien joined Roger Perry in the 34-episode ABC sitcom, Harrigan and Son about a father-and-son team of lawyers. He would also be seen in 1981 in WKRP in Cincinnati and in 1982 in Happy days

O'Brien had a small role as Burt Reynolds's father in the 1978 comedy film The End, opposite Myrna Loy, who played Reynolds's mother.

Pat O'Brien died on October 15, 1983 from a heart attack, aged 83. Pat had more than one hundred screen credits to his resume when he passed away!

Knute Rockne All American is truly Pat O’Brien at his best. Knute Rockne All American is much more than a football film; it‘s an inspiring tale of a man who followed his heart and had true success and touched many lives!

So until next time this is Jason Lockard saying if you want to see a good movie check out a classic!


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Moral Rating: Nothing Offensive
Audience: Family
Genre: Sports Drama
Length: 86 min.
Released: 1940
Our Rating: A

Once more onto the breach with ideas that are deranged enough to have come from the mind that gave us 50 killer shark and killer snake movies of the past few years but without the pay or respect. Too many people automatically assume they're the reincarnation of Ernest Hemmingway or even think that they're superior to the screenwriters from Scary Movie 2. For some reason, you would think there could be a limit to the number of movie plots that could be devloped by fusing multiple movies together with a cerebral Brundlefly teleporter. Sleep deprivation and a loose connection to reality are the only things needed to come up with these ideas. Well, maybe some will develop Dirty Harry and the Chamber of Secrets.

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Apocalpyse Now You See Him Now You Don't

An invisible Steve Guttenberg, who keeps peeking into women's gym locker rooms, is sent on a mission to kill the deranged Colonel Kurtz (a computer generated Marlon Brando). No one will forget when Tackleberry from the Police Acadmey movies delivers the immortal quote "I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like....victory..." Some may think replacing Martin Sheen with Steve Guttenberg is complete insanity. However, it is demonstrating the dichotomy of casting a superior actor with one who is known for starring in Can't Stop the Music or the casting director was Guttenberg's cousin that will be best remembered..



Iron Giant Spider Invasion

What's worse than a spider the size of a Volkswagen Beetle rampaging through a small town? A spider the size of a tank rampaging through that town would be worse. Since Alan Hale Jr can't return, Bob Uecker will play the part of the jovial sheriff who answers the phone and makes stale jokes that's humor died in the mid 1960s. Larry the Cable Guy has been contacted to play the redneck farmer that discovers the meteor impact. He discovers that saying "Git R dunnnnnnnnnnnn" doesn't stop the giant spider from gitting him digested...



Jaws X: In Space

The government is sick of having to contend with an angry giant great white shark attacking people and swimming from the Eastern seaboard all the way to the Caribbean in 5 1/2 minutes. The only plan that is possible is to lure Jaws with a bikini clad federal agent (Jessica Alba, could I ever do one of these articles without mentioning her?) and then cryogenically freeze him and accidentally her, too. Unfortunately, the cold temperature is more pronounced on Jessica Alba which causes all men to just stare at her rather than actually blowing the giant frozen guppy which would offend animal rights activists. They decide on putting the frozen Jaws instead of a place like a desert but place him in a swimming pool. Several hundred years later, after the Earth has been ecologically ruined into the wasteland filled with gangs roaming the post apocalyptic ruins. The reanimated Jessica Alba who is still in her bikini must battle the reawakened Jaws that has been surgically augmented with nanites.



My Fair Lady Terminator

Rex Harrison takes a young confused woman who possesses a Bobbitting man-removing internal organ and trains her to be an unstoppable killing machine. My Fair Lady Terminator will also spontaneously break into songs like "doe is a deer, a female deer..." as she starts to gun down people in a homage to James Cameron movies. Learning to "hasta la vista, baby" is another trick for one confused android who really doesn't appreciate when people use the soup spoon inappropriately.

Film critic. Has there ever been two words when compiled together eschewed so much bile and collected venom from the majority of the population? To answer that question, there is a resounding yes. The term President [fill in the blank with your least favorite presidential last name] usually riles up anger inside of a great many people, but film critics are reserved a very peculiar echelon of hatred. If you look online at any given film community where fans banter on back and forth, you will no doubt at some point see the hatred that many spew forth about these so called "know it all" critics who apparently bash movies simply to be different or to espouse their own pretentious learning. For this reason alone I have ran from the term the entire duration of my writing "career". I have hidden behind the term "reviewer", which is certainly not that estranged from "critic" but it is generally more friendly to readers who think of critics with a certain amount of disdain.

The question that one must ultimately ask is "why do critics get so much flak?", well the answer to that question is simple: they deserve it. Critics, especially those looking to gain readership, will rely on mean spirited attack-style authorship in order to get their most basic of points across. In this day and age of non-technical blogging, anyone can quite literally become a critic and so many of us fall into this category. No longer do we need any journalism courses nor degrees in order to share an opinion. You can reach a larger audience with your very own Wordpress blog than your local newspaper could ever hope to achieve. This is a blessing and a curse for film journalism, coming with a tremendous set of pros and cons that make the movement a bit of a controversial topic. Print is all but dead at this moment, but the distinctions between talent and skill are still there for anyone to read for themselves. When your average blogger is placed on a stool next to a writer who contributes to an actual print medium, the differences in quality are going to be amazing. Such a comparison may seem unfair, as there are actually bloggers who are tremendously talented and would give any printed author a run for their money. Yet, for the one or two online critics who use their position in order to further the intelligent debate of cinema, there are three more who use their position in order to tear some b-movie apart with their bear hands.

Where in the past I felt that reviewers and critics were different from one another these days I am turning away from my old opinion. Let's face it, the term “critic” is short for one who criticizes something. It doesn't sound very subjective does it? It gives the impression of one who consistently finds fault. I have always held the contention that true film discussion comes not from witty prose or insulting characterizations that demean a film in order to gather a laugh, but from sincere accounts of just what areas a film succeeded in or where they may have missed the mark. If a writer is using the phrase “it sucks” in their review, they have forfeited any semblance of respect that they may have wielded in any context. Yet, there are writers who are perfectly adept at their job from a technical standpoint. Some are eloquent and dare I say beautiful in the way that they write, but at the same time use their position to do a much more artistic version of the same thing. To me, cruelty and a mean attitude simply demeans the entire point about writing on film. Some writers would prefer it the other way around (as it leads to more entertaining write ups), but I would much rather write about a film that moved me than I would something that is poorly made. This “job”, if there is a benefit, should come from turning others on to really great titles based solely on the sincerity words.

There are many problems that we critics have. Aside from those who do a disservice to the technical side of things and those who simply use the job to vent their anger, there are also those who fall in the line of what I like to refer to as cinematic cowards. These are the writer who walked out of Lars Von Trier's Antichrist, the likes of Joel Siegel when he walked out of Clerks II and any of the fainting writers currently huddling in a corner due to A Serbian Film as it makes the rounds. I am a firm believer in being a well rounded viewer. For horror fans I consistently recommend that they check out arthouse cinema classics and for arthouse fans I consistently ask them to research cinematic violence as only horror cinema can provide. When you become well rounded enough, discerning cinema from reality becomes a part of your DNA. You can call it being desensitized, but as long as you can still feel the pain of a character on screen and be moved to tears – you are still feeling all of the emotions that make cinema the universal greatest art form there is.

I have written this article but I have to admit that I am not perfect nor the epitome of what a critic needs to be. My shortcomings could fill a book on what a writer should not be. Like the bloggers I've rambled about, of which I am one, I have no classical training to do what it is that I do. In the past I have been far too lavish with my praise. I waste words and am rarely concise in my descriptions. Anything written by me has to be combed for typos, no matter the amount of time I spend on it. Fragmented sentences are so common with me that it is a point of embarrassment. Literally, if I were to have critics myself then I fear they would quite literally tear me into a thousand pieces and they would most certainly be warranted in their doing so. It comes down to the same thing however, are we in this to be mean spirited or are our critiques there to be helpful? At my worst, most hypocritical moments, I feel that I am always trying to better myself and take that into account with the filmmakers that I am speaking to. I know that they too did their best in whatever project they worked on. In critics circles vinegar may actually catch more flies than sugar, but kindness will always trump that sulking feeling one feels when they hate everything that they watch.

As a kid in the 1960s, dinosaurs were just about the coolest things in the world to me, and they were a very important part of my childhood play time. I had dinosaur books (one had beautiful reproductions of the Charles R. Knight paintings), dinosaur comic books (DC’s “The War that Time Forgot” was my favorite), and, of course, plastic dinosaur toys. My particular modus operandi was for my dino toys to viciously attack my toy soldiers on my Lionel train set. It was perfect. There was always an earthquake type phenomenon that unleashed these hellish creatures on my band of plastic GIs. The monsters made short work of the layout by smashing buildings, eating people and causing massive O-scale property damage. But my soldiers would somehow survive, usually by developing a super weapon or by having a locomotive plow into the creatures “Addams Family” style. My mother used to get mad at me because I got so absorbed in my play that I would ignore her calls for dinner. Only one thing could ever get me to leave my favorite toys for a prolonged period. And that was a dinosaur movie.

I watched them all. From The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms to Godzilla vs. the Thing, I sought out every dinosaur film available. But even at a young age, I was struck by how some dinos looked more realistic than others. At age six I laughed my head off when the actors in King Dinosaur (1954) called the lethargic iguana a T-Rex! I used to scratch my head because I couldn’t figure out why some dinosaurs were real cool and others were rather dopey looking. But as I got older and started to research these beloved movies, I began to understand the processes that created them.  And just as my knowledge began to increase, dinosaur movies started to disappear from TV. They were replaced by repeated showings of cheap “psycho-type” horror films. I still thought about the dinosaur films though. I know that some of them had pretty rickety looking dinos, but most of them kept me happy. So here are five low budget dinosaur movies that you may find have redeeming qualities. They won’t win any awards and their monsters are mediocre, but they are part of the golden age of prehistoric films.

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1. UNKNOWN ISLAND (Film Classics, 1948) Director: Jack Bernhard

In a sleazy Singapore bar, photographer Ted Osborne (Philip Reed) and his fiancé Carol Lane (Virginia Grey) hire steamer Captain Tarnowski (Barton MacLane) to take them to a remote island in the South Pacific. It seems that during the war Ted flew over this island and saw live dinosaurs roaming around. Tarnowski laughs at the idea, but he agrees to take them. He also decides to take along local drunk John Fairbanks (Richard Denning) who has also been to the island. He witnessed several of his friends being devoured by these monsters and has crawled into a bottle ever since. Once on the island, the intrepid group does find assorted dinosaurs including Dimetrodons, a Brontosaurus, several Ceratosaurs and a giant sloth (played by Ray “Crash” Corrigan). Far worse than the prehistoric creatures, though, is the monstrous behavior of Tarnowski who is clearly sexually interested in Carol. His drunken crude actions have cost several crewmen their lives. Can Osborne, Lane and Fairbanks survive all the dangers of this island and make it home alive?

During the 1960s, Unknown Island was one of the most frequently shown movies on television. It was filmed in the two-strip CineColor process and featured well known TV actors like Richard Denning and Barton MacLane. The plot is basically your standard jungle thriller with dinosaurs replacing the normal wild animals. All of the actors are decent, but top honors go to Barton MacLane as the villainous Tarnowski. MacLane is loud and sometimes overacts, but he does play a great slimy sea captain. Sometimes it seems that all MacLane needs is a needle mustache and a top hat (he does wear black throughout the film). As a child it was very satisfying to see him get his just deserts at the hands of the sloth. However, what really drags Unknown Island down are its monsters. The dinos are portrayed either by stiff looking models or by stunt men in very ill fitting costumes (created by effects veteran Ellis Burman). The Ceratosaurs are particularly pitiful. They walk stiffly and their mouths flap about unconvincingly. When they fight, they bump into one another and try to look menacing. To a modern audience Unknown Island is pretty lukewarm stuff, but when watched with the innocence of a child, it’s a pleasant enough time waster.

Quotable Movie Line:

“I have nothing to fear Mr. Fairbanks. After all they’ll be some men going as well.”

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2. GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (AKA GIGANTIS, THE FIRE MONSTER) (Toho/Warners 1955/1959) Director: Motoyoshi Oda

Koji (Minoru Chiaki) and Shoichi (Hiroshi Koizumi) are pilots for a Japanese fishing company. It’s their job to look for schools of fish for their company’s fleet. On a routine flight, Koji’s plane suffers engine trouble and he’s forced to land on a nearby mountainous island. Shoichi lands to pick him up and both men are stunned to see two giant prehistoric dinosaurs locked in a titanic battle. Once back in Japan, Shoichi and Koji tell the authorities that one of the monsters looked liked Godzilla. The scientists are stunned since Godzilla was obliterated the previous year by Dr. Serizawa’s oxygen destroyer. They quickly surmise that H-bomb radiation has created another Godzilla. The second monster is identified as Angilas and resembles an Ankylosaurus. Japan’s defense forces quickly prepare for another monster onslaught. But without Dr. Serizawa and his secret weapon, what can the scientists do to prevent annihilation? 

Of all the Toho Godzilla films, Godzilla Raids Again is the one that’s easily overlooked, but in some ways it’s an important entry in the series. As a young boy I always wondered “how could Godzilla come back when he was reduced to a skeleton?” This film provides the answers. While it was no great stretch to simply create another Godzilla, this at least provided some much needed continuity to the series. This was also the last black and white Godzilla film and the first in which he fought another giant monster. The battles between Godzilla and Angilas are much more subdued than any of the later film fights. There aren’t any of the outrageous wrestling type moves that were used later on. This film is actually quite somber like its predecessor. The photography is very dark as well which hides the shabbiness of the dinosaur costumes, but it also prevents you from enjoying some of Eji Tsuburaya’s miniatures. When released in the US in 1959, Warner Brothers deleted Masaru Sato’s excellent score and substituted music from other American sci-fi films. They didn’t even call Godzilla by his name (apparently they failed to get the rights). Overall, this is still a decent entry in the Godzilla series. While it’s not a first class Toho production, Godzilla Raids Again is a fun monster movie that delivers the “kaiju eiga” goods.

Quotable Movie Line:

“We killed Godzilla once before with the oxygen destroyer. That Godzilla is at the bottom of Tokyo Bay. All the information related to that invention is gone.”

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3. THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN (United Artists, 1956) Director: Edward Nassour and Ismael Rodriguez

American rancher Jimmy Ryan (Guy Madison) and partner Felipe Sanchez (Carlos Rivas) are losing some of their cattle. They feel that their rival Enrique Rios (Edward Noriega) is responsible. But the locals say that the cattle have been carried off by the Beast of Hollow Mountain, a horrible creature from earth’s prehistory. To make matters worse, Rios’s girlfriend Sarita (Patricia Medina) secretly loves Jimmy. When little Panchito (annoying Mario Navarro) goes off to the Hollow Mountain swamp to look for his father, Jimmy and Felipe discover that there is more to this local legend than just the tall tale. Jimmy and Felipe must use their wits to kill a cunning beast that is determined to snack on little Panchito (and anyone else it can find).

The Beast of Hollow Mountain is a sad coda in the career of stop motion legend Willis O’Brien. Legend has it that O’Brien sold his short story (that the film is based on) to producer Edward Nassour for little money with the implied guarantee that he would be allowed to complete the stop motion himself. O’Brien even gave Nassour his model Allosaurus from his cancelled Gwangi project (although this model was not used in the film). Nassour forgot all about O’Brien once he had what he needed and let cinematographer Henry Sharp do most of the actual animation. The result is a dinosaur movie with a boring dinosaur. Sharp is unable to instill any life into the puppet. The Allosaurus looks realistic enough, but simply acts like a regular movie monster without any character or personality. I always wondered how much better this film would have been with O’Brien’s sure hands in control of the beast. Nassour seemed to know his dino wasn’t that good, because he keeps it off camera until the final twenty minutes. What we’re left with is a boring western. Even as a kid, The Beast of Hollow Mountain was tough to get through. I didn’t care about the ridiculous love triangle in the film and wanted to get to the good stuff. Unfortunately, there is precious little good stuff and the film suffers accordingly. The Beast of Hollow Mountain is hollow all right. It’s a hollow monster thriller.

Quotable Movie Line: None

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4. VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE (Toho/Crown International, 1958/1962) Director: Ishiro Honda

In Siberia, a previously unknown species of butterfly is discovered. Convinced that this species must also exist in selected areas of northern Japan, a research scientist sends two assistants to the area to search for it. The explorers are greeted with hostility by the local inhabitants. They say that the scientists’ arrival has angered their god Varan who lives in a nearby lake. When the scientists are killed by this strange god, more researchers are sent in. The god is discovered to be a previously unknown species of spiky dinosaur. Varan comes out of the lake and proceeds to destroy the village. The monstrous creature then flies to the ocean and heads for Tokyo. When traditional weapons prove useless against it, the military prepares special new ammunition that can penetrate the creature’s tough skin. It all comes down to a final battle at Tokyo airport as the fearsome Varan and the brave Japanese Defense Forces square off.

Comparing the original Japanese version of Varan the Unbelievable to the American version is interesting. The American version used only the battle footage and none of the plot. All the scenes with the search for the butterfly were discarded and replaced with boring scenes of American actor Myron Healy trying to desalinate the lake where Varan lives. The original Japanese version of Varan is far superior in every way. Akira Ifukube contributes a good solid music score (although some of the themes from Godzilla can be heard here) and while Eji Tsuburaya’s effects are not up to the level of either Godzilla or Rodan, they are still fun. The mist shrouded lake where Varan resides is an effectively spooky miniature. One problem with the film is that Varan is not a great Toho monster. The monster suit is not very special and looks like it was put together very quickly. And the less said about Varan’s flying scenes, the better (although these were cut out of the American version). Like Godzilla Raids Again, Varan the Unbelievable is not well thought of by monster film critics. But for the seven year old in me, it still is a fun feature.

Quotable Movie Line:

“Go home! Your presence here today is making Varan angry. Two men who have come from Tokyo have already died. Go home!”

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5. SOUND OF HORROR (Zurbano Films, 1965) Director: Jose Antonio Nieves Conde

In the mountains of Greece Professor Andre (Antonio Casas) and his niece Maria (Soledad Miranda) remove prehistoric eggs from a cave. The duo is later joined by some of their friends. When one of the friends goes back to the cave, he is torn apart by an invisible T-Rex. Wanting its eggs, the savage creature lays siege to the professor’s house. It takes the ultimate sacrifice from one of the Professor’s friends (Jose Bodalo) to save the group from the vicious flesh eating invisible monster.

So when is a dinosaur movie not a dinosaur movie? Perhaps WHEN THERE IS NO DINOSAUR! Sound of Horror is one of the worst dinosaur movies ever made. While no one expects quality from a low budget Spanish monster film, director Jose Conde thumbs his nose at monster movie fans by failing to deliver the dino goods. The monster remains invisible for 88 of the movie’s 89 minutes. Only at the last moment, do we get a look at the T-Rex. And it’s one of the all time worst dinos ever committed to film. It looks like a prop from a miniature golf course. The only good thing in this film is seeing future Hammer horror queen Ingrid Pitt in the cast. She’s lucky because she’s quickly killed off and put out of her misery. The real sound of horror here are the screams of anger and frustration that emanate from monster movie fans who sit through this sad excuse of a dinosaur film.

Quotable Movie Line: None

 
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So that’s a quick look back at five older dinosaur films that have gone the way of the behemoths themselves. Yes, they were cheap, and the cost of the dinosaur suits couldn’t cover one day’s catering on a modern day film set. But back then all they wanted to do was to provide 90 minutes of entertainment. They used sleight of hand so you didn’t look at them too closely and see the zippers.  For the youngster in me, some of these still make me smile.

Selected References:

Berry, Mark F. The Dinosaur Filmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc, 2002.
Galbraith IV, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company Inc, 1994.
Pettigrew Neil. The Stop-Motion Filmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company Inc, 1999.
Senn, Bryan and Johnson, John. Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company Inc. 1992.
Warren Bill. Keep Watching the Skies (Two Volume Set). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company Inc, 1982 and 1986.

There has been a cultural tidal wave that has come through recently. One film has caught a tremendous amount of attention from both film-go'ers and critics. That movie is, as you may already know, Inception. The first original script from director Christopher Nolan since his debut feature Following, it is as huge in its scope as his massive hit The Dark Knight ever dreamed of being. What has drawn audiences in however hasn't simply been the fun escapist plot that so many summer movies often carry with them, it has been the pure imagination and utterly maze-like story that seems so easy to grow lost within. Although normally our time here on Rogue Cinema is divided between the independent and the thoroughly obscure, Inception is a film that takes qualities from Christopher Nolan's independent film roots and mixes them up with the big budget Hollywood techniques that he has learned in recent years. The result is a film that breaks through all borders, so why not our own? I have read some criticism as of recent from fellow like-minded film geeks who make the claim that Inception, while good, is only viewed as a ”great” film due to the lack of quality in so many recent Hollywood productions. This is a legitimate point of view, not one that I share, but it is a legitimate point of view. While I am not here to attack it like a rabid wolverine, I am here to say that I disagree and I will make my case on just why Inception is indeed a “great” movie.

Continuing on in the direction that Christopher Nolan established with his first two feature films (Following, Memento), he is once again back in the drivers seat and manipulating film narrative. There were hints of this to be found in Batman Begins, where we slipped in and out of time periods within Bruce Wayne's formidable training, but one assumes that studio involvement could have put the kibosh on any serious attempts at deconstructionism. After the massive hit that was The Dark Knight, we see Nolan unleashed with a budget and zero restraints. Inception, if you are not aware, is the story of Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is a corporate spy for hire along with his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon Levitt). They are spies of the mind, who use a device that allows them to go into the dreams of various corporate leaders to steal their most hidden thoughts and knowledge. When a job goes bad inside the mind of a Japanese business man named Saito (Ken Watanabe), they are left running for their lives because their employers will now surely kill them. Saito approaches the two however and offers them the chance at a fortune, and something more important for Cobb... a chance to head back home to America to see his children, a place he hasn't been in a long time due to legal issues that prevent him from stepping inside of the country. They are asked to do the impossible. Go into the dreams of another corporate giant and not just remove thoughts, but to actually plant an idea inside of his mind that will cause him to destroy his own empire. Now it is up to Cobb to build his team and prepare for the most dangerous heist of his career.

Inception may be the largest jump in creative use of narrative that we have had since Pulp Fiction or possibly even Nolan's very own Memento, depending on how well you regard that film. Although there are touches of that “out of order” non-linear thought process that Quentin Tarantino made so popular during the mid-to-late nineties, the true jumping points for Inception come in the form of its “dream within dreams” style of logic. Crafting a series of dreams where we are given very particular ways to enter and exit them, Nolan is able to take us on a controlled vision that feels like utter chaos. Nolan deftly maneuvers between these dreams, leaving characters behind as things progress only to come back and re-visit them while they attempt to complete their very own missions. The final ninety minutes of Inception are a culmination of Nolan's greatest work and all of his major influences. There is the tense editing of Alfred Hitchcock, the painted blues and stark action of Michael Mann and there is of course the warped and perplexing plot of Christopher Nolan's very own work. I mention Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider) in passing, but I don't want to get the two filmmakers crossed. While both filmmakers are most assuredly technicians who are very logical in their progression of plots and ideas, Michael Mann is often criticized for his lack of emotional attachment to his characters. Often times his work seems to come across as very emotionally despondent. This can be an interesting quality at times, by giving the film a very meditative quality, but it can also turn off audiences. Christopher Nolan on the other hand... this is a filmmaker who loves pathos.

The character of Cobb is simply another in the long line of haunted men as painted by Christopher Nolan. The character has roots in all of Nolan's films, all the way back to his introductory feature where there was actually a character that went by the name of Cobb. Both characters are thieves by their trade, with the differences being night and day between the two. The character of Cobb in Following is ruthless in his wit and feels no sympathy for what he does and takes delight in adjusting other people's lives. He breaks into a persons home and then dumps out a box full of personal photographs, just to let that person know that he has been there and seen a glimpse inside of their personal self. However, our Cobb in Inception lives his life out of a tremendous guilt for playing a similar game. It is interesting that in both films the general crime film motif of “a box” (as in a safe, a vault or a lockbox) is used more as a representation of something much more personal than material possessions. In Following it is stated that ever person has “a box”, a place where they keep photographs and documents hidden from the outside world. A place that is as hidden as our own internal monologue it would seem. With Inception we are shown that in our dream reality our subconscious automatically builds a vault, a safe or a box that holds our own personal secrets so as to protect them. With Inception Nolan is able to further explain man's nature and our own internal structure of retaining secrets, even from our own selves.

Nolan loves to deliver pathos and guilt and it has shown in all of his work. The psychological damage of past traumas and their effect on man is a big part in much of his work. Inception delves back into this theme yet again and ultimately delivers his most satisfying portrayal of this condition. With his previous work, he has focused on men who have been haunted by their past and are spurred into violent action. In Memento the character of Leonard shared his entire world with his wife and when both she was killed and he was left with no memory, he had nothing left but his vengeance. We never question Leonard's love for his wife because the anguish of his character is at all times palpable. When Nolan was brought on board to direct the Batman series, it at first seemed like a odd choice but he was able to spin the emotional trauma of Bruce Wayne psyche into something that had not been seen in the film versions of this character yet. The emotional core of Bruce Wayne was brought to the forefront and we finally understood why this character does what he does. He is a man deprived of his childhood, who knew only his parents during his formidable years. When they are taken from him, he is left with nothing but his ethics and his vengeance. This establishes the character arch of ethos versus vengeance that was thoroughly explored in Batman Begins, but with Inception there is no vengeance. There is only man's internal conflict and the character of Cobb must do battle with this. The guilt and the anger is no longer placed on a outside entity, but on his own self. Within the world of dreams, Cobb brings forth his destructive conscious. The enemy lays dormant inside of his mind willing to strike out, and the forgiveness that this character must find within himself is the replacement for vengeance. Love replaces violence and Nolan crafts his most ingenuitive plot devices, in what could only be described as the most intense and intellectual summer picture ever made.

Featuring a plot that one needs a map and a compass in order to find their way around, there is certainly a fun quality about the picture that endears itself to almost all audiences. I have no doubts that some simply scratch the surface of the picture and enjoy the tricky puzzle-like qualities that the script has to offer. For some, simply watching the film will give them a feeling of accomplishment that they “got it”. This in turn will of course turn off some viewers. It can feel like a trick, that the film establishes itself as a technical achievement that is intentionally difficult to master and absorb. This is not the truth however. Nolan takes the heist drama as his starting point for exploring these science fiction issues, because it's like Nolan has said: the heist movie is the only genre where exposition is actually treated as entertainment. To get inside of this world, with this new technology and with so many twists and turns to the logic, the filmmaker intentionally chose a genre that would allow him to explain all of the little vivid details before showing us the actual story. Everything makes sense in Inception and understanding the technical plot simply means that you aren't riddled with ADD. However, there is a great deal more going on below even the technical merits that Inception rattles you with. To understand it, means to study it.

Where Memento, at the time of its release, was often accused of being a parlor trick. An elaborate take off on Tarantino's non-linear storytelling. Inception tells us a linear story that delves heavily in the philosophical and grandiose. Through the use of editing he reminds us, right in the midst of our world within worlds, that there are others progressively moving our story along. The finale for Inception is a quadruple split narrative, a feat within itself, that takes place within dream upon dream. We lose characters along the way, we cut back and forth to them and our editing progressively moves faster and faster until it is breathing down our neck like a panting animal. We rush to keep up with the plot and we follow along for the ride, but ultimately this is Nolan's fantasy and we are all just taking part as observers. In the midst of the catharsis of our characters and the twists and turns of the plot, some are lost. However, for those who are willing to stick it out – it may be the most important Hollywood film in years. It could even be considered a game changer, but unfortunate for us most aren't even playing the same sport; much less playing in the same league.

My name is Jason S. Lockard and as like the rest of the world I am a fan of Elvis Presley and August being the month of his passing I thought I’d take a look back at one of his iconic movies…. Jailhouse Rock!

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, but moved to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family at the age of 13. He began his career there in 1954 when Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, eager to bring the sound of African American music to a wider audience, he saw in Presley the means to realize his ambition.

RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage the singer for over two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", released in January 1956, was a number one hit. He became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll with a series of network television appearances and chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs, many from African American sources, and his uninhibited style made him hugely controversial and extremely popular. In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender.

Than in 1957 Elvis starred in one of his best films Jailhouse Rock directed by Richard Thorpe. This film was Elvis’ third and his MGM debut. Presley plays "Vince Everett," an ex-convict working in the music industry. Vince goes to jail for manslaughter when he sticks up for a woman who is being harassed by a man in the bar. In prison he meets Hunk Houghton and the two men form a bond. Houghton, a washed-up country singer, teaches Everett to play an old guitar, and to sing a few songs.

Upon his release, Everett lands work at night clubs, but not singing. He meets Peggy Van Alden [Judy Tyler], a record company talent scout, who allows Everett to record a song. They bring his demo to an executive at a small record label, who then records the exact arrangement with one of his established stars. Everett and Van Alden then start their own label to bring Everett's records to the public, and fame, riches, and a film career ensue, but fame soon goes to Everett’s head and he pushes Peggy away and Hunk sees how he hurt Peggy and punches Everett in the throat possibly damaging his voice forever! Does Everett get his voice and career back? You’ll have to watch the film to find out! 

For its time, Jailhouse Rock was considered scandalous. The idea of a convict being a hero, the use of the word hell to swear, and a scene of Presley laying in bed with co-star Judy Tyler were all considered risky for the audience.

MGM initially wanted to title the film The Hard Way before settling on the title of the main song Jailhouse Rock. The first scenes to be shot were for the dance sequence to the song Jailhouse Rock. This erotic, if not homo-erotic, dance sequence is often cited as Elvis's greatest moment onscreen. Elvis after trying the original choreography by Alex Romero told Alex “I’m not Fred Astaire, I’ll do anything you ask, but I can’t do that!” Alex than asked Elvis to show him what he does on stage, after seeing this Alex choreographed the dance sequence. Later the legendary actor/dancer Gene Kelly paid a visit to the set to watch a run-through of the sequence he applauded when it was performed.

A day after filming began Presley was rushed to hospital after a dental cap became loose and he inhaled it into his lung. After surgery to remove it and a few days in hospital he was released. He was able to return to work a few days later. Filming commenced on May 13 1957 and completed on June 17.

In a tragic note Judy Taylor was killed in an auto accident just a few short weeks after completing this film.

In 2004, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

After serving his time the Military, in 1958 Presley quickly re-launched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He staged few concerts, however, and, guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood movies and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided.

In 1968, after seven years away from the stage, he returned to live performance in a celebrated comeback television special that led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of profitable tours. In 1973, Presley staged the first concert broadcast globally via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii, seen by approximately 1.5 billion viewers. Prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42.

Presley is one of the most recognizable stars of 20th-century. He had #1 hits in all genres including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues. He is the best-selling solo artist in popular music history. He was nominated for 14 competitive Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36.

While Many consider Elvis’ films just fluff and a guy chasing the girl. Elvis did have acting talent but you can only act in what the studio gives you! Proof of Elvis’ acting chops can be seen in Love me Tender, King Creole and our film this month Jailhouse Rock! Elvis Presley Movie Star but to most of the world Elvis is and always will be simply The King of Rock and Roll

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Moral Rating: Mild Violence
Audience: Teens & Adults
Genre: Drama
Length: 95 min.
Released: 1957
Our Rating: A-

My friends we can not keep this a secret any longer! Can your hearts stand the truth; that two pie-plates glued together and tied to a string equals a Flying Saucer!

The perfect storm that is a bad movie is born when two storm fronts collide...big ideas and little money.

A low-budget is the spark that sets-off the big bang of the creative mind; the mind that dresses dogs up to look like Giant Shrews (for "Attack of the Giant Shrews.") The same mind that ties strings to rubber bats, makes robots from cardboard, and smears oatmeal on another human beings face to create a Monster.

It's the idea that blowing your budget on a rented gorilla suit isn't a blunder, but a skillful chess move (as long as the gorilla appears in ninety-five percent of the shots.) This is the real genius of filmmaking.

It's the genius that looks at red gelatin wiggling on a plate and thinks, "If that were twenty feet tall it could terrorize teenagers parked at lover's lane, and their only hope would be Steve McQueen, who's not afraid of any sized desert." Thus, "The Blob" is born, and its influence spawns remakes and rip-offs, but the process is always the same...actors covered in Strawberry jelly. Oh, the Horror!

The Horror and the Humor of it all! It makes you wonder... Did theses mavericks of moviemaking know how funny their rubber monsters were going to be? I would like to think so. And I wish I could have witnessed that "moment of clarity" when the first actor waddled on to the set in full monster suit, with a big metal zipper up the front, and foam head under his arm; like an astronaut overflowing with "The Right Stuff."

Imagine it. Lighting guys working hard, actors memorizing lines, and in walks "the monster." First, a moment of awkward silence, a slight chuckle from the back of the set, and then laughter that spreads like wildfire. "Alright, damn it!" Shouts the director. "Let's just shoot the thing!" ...Movie History.

The new generation of bad moviemaker can learn a lot from theses pioneers of poor product. Such as using a ripe melon filled with goo for a head crush scene (ala "The Toxic Avenger.") Or that for the price of a bag of cotton balls and a bottle corn syrup you can turn one of your actors into a horrifying monster (as suggested by "Dick Smith's Do-It-Yourself Monster Make-Up Handbook.") And let us not forget that an airplane cockpit is nothing more than a plywood archway and curtain (as seen in "Plan 9 from Other Space.)

You see, that's what all the snobby film critics out there will never understand (except for Leonard Maltin's glowing review of "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors," in which Maltin said the film was, "Well written and imaginatively directed.") ...These horrible films are about being creative (and making a quick buck.) But mostly, B-Moviemaking is about having fun and saying to others, "Hey, look at this cool piece of crap I made!"

As the summer movie blockbusters are about to start with so many sequels being released, it has gotten to the point no one can think of a single movie that isn't a sequel, remake, or re-imagining. Why go to a theater filled with derivatively lame movie sequels when you can get completely insane derivative sequels without having to go to a theater, pay $10 for a medium diet Coke, or have to sit near the guy who's on his cell phone more than a 16 year old girl talking about her date by just reading my deranged ramblings on a computer screen?

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Batman Forever Young

Mel Gibson is Bruce Wayne who was placed in cryogenic suspension after his girlfriend, Lois Lane, was injured and placed in a coma by the Joker. Well, some facts have to be screwed up to anger comic book fans. 50 years later, Dick Grayson accidentally revives Bat-Mel who is angrier than Mel Gibson according to celebrity gossip new shows. The Dark Lunatic prepares for a final battle after discovering that the Joker isn't dead but has taken another identity: Police Commissioner James Gordon. Yes, Bat-Mel has to fight his way through the police to reach the Clown Prince of Crime before he ages back to his chronological age.

Se7en Brides for Se7en Brothers

The world loves thrillers and musicals. However, the time has come to fuse a thriller about serial killers with a musical. Yes, seven psychopathic brothers decide it is time for them to settle down. However, the brides-to-be decide about their dowries. The brothers from the woods have to now show their potential brides their determination by each eliminating 7 former boyfriends of each bride. The new local police officer is being trained by the retiring officer (Morgan Freeman) as they discover their biggest case will involve plenty of logger mountain men and spontaneous dancing to unheard music.

THX-113 Eight Men Out

You may be a Star Wars fan. However, the biggest secret is about to be revealed that may destroy all your joy in Star Wars. A secret will shock everyone and everything so much that even the magnetic poles will reverse in surprise. The world will be shocked by this tale of how George Lucas and actors were bribed by Steven Spielberg to tank Star Wars: Episodes 1-3. Your heart strings will be pulled when a small boy asks "Shoeless" George Lucas to say it ain't so that Jar Jar was actually meant to be funny, and George walks away even smaller than before...The Vader Primal Scream will be the only thing left on your lips as you leave th theater.

When I was in sixth grade, Sister Terenia (or Terenia the Terrible as we used to call her) loved to play the Spanish Inquisition game. She would line up every student around the entire room (girl, boy, girl, boy, of course, to prevent “cheating”) and proceed to randomly ask us questions from every subject we had been studying. You could not sit down unless you failed to answer a question correctly. Those that sat down then had to immediately write a 200 word essay of why they were not prepared for school while the rest of us struggled on. Now this game was supposed to help us review for upcoming exams, but she really just liked to see us all sweat and squirm.

One time I actually was one of the final two students. I was up against the nerdy brain of the class, an uncouth jerk who lauded his brain power over everyone else. This nimrod thought he was hot stuff, and luckily for him, was smart enough to run all the way home after school so he wouldn’t get pounded by half the class. He wound up beating me on a question about the Gettysburg Address. Afterwards, he shot me that “I’m so superior look” and I swore revenge on him. Since that day, I was always wary of extremely brainy guys.

Sci-fi film producers must have felt the same way I did because the idea of a super intelligent sentient brain as an evil force was developed into a number of movies during the 1950s. This idea stemmed from the 1942 publication of the Curt Sidomark’s novel Donovan’s Brain. Sidomark, a successful author and screen writer, (who contributed much to the mythology of the original Universal monsters) saw his idea adapted a number of times by others. But his novel was the first time that a bodiless, exposed brain was shown to be evil. The inherent problem with most evil brains is that they don’t have any appendages for locomotion, so they must control the behavior of others in order to get their way. But even with that limitation, brains made unique villains in the era of the radioactive monster. So here’s a look at some films where the bad guy is an evil, exposed brain.

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1. DONOVAN’S BRAIN (United Artists, 1953) Director: Felix Feist, Jr.

Dr. Patrick Cory (Lew Ayres) is a research scientist who studies the function of the human brain in his isolated desert home. One day a small plane crashes nearby and Cory brings the body of the pilot, wealthy and unscrupulous millionaire Warren Donovan, to his home. Cory removes the brain from the body, hides this fact from the police, and keeps the brain alive in a small tank. Unfortunately, Donovan’s brain is still quite active and begins exerting its influence on Cory. Can the earnest scientist regain control of his mind before Donovan completely takes over?

Donovan’s Brain is a quaint sci-fi relic from the 1950s. It holds your interest but doesn’t really sparkle and come to life. Back when it was released, the idea that a part of the body could be kept alive by itself was pretty unique, but in this day of modern medical transplants, the idea has lost some of its luster. The cast is surprisingly good. Lew Ayres, Gene Evans and Nancy Davis (later Nancy Reagan) all turn in fine performances, but the problem with the film is that nothing much happens. The brain never really makes Cory do anything truly evil (although the film ends just as Cory is about to strangle his wife). But up to that point, the brain makes Cory carry out the dead millionaire’s scheme against taxation. I mean in this day and age of tax scams and corporate evil that just makes Donovan seem like one of boys! While Donovan’s Brain is the best adaptation of Curt Sidomark’s novel (the other two versions, 1944’s The Lady and the Monster and 1962’s The Brain are just awful), the film remains static. For all the hoopla over the topic, this film really needs a lot more intelligence.

Quotable Movie Line: “But this brain contains all the knowledge and experience of Warren Donovan’s entire life. In other words, all his thoughts must still be alive.”



2. THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS (Howco, 1958) Director: Nathan Hertz (Juran)

When scientist Steve March (John Agar) and his friend Dan (Robert Fuller) go up to investigate strange radioactive readings from Mystery Mountain, they are assaulted by a giant evil brain named Gor who fries Dan with a bolt of energy and enters Steve’s body forcing him to do the brain’s evil bidding. Later when they return home, Gor is excited by the appearance of Steve’s girlfriend Sally (Joyce Meadows). Once a day Gor must leave Steve’s body to recharge itself, and during these moments, Gor carries on conversations with Steve. The brain plans on taking over the world. He’s also got plans for Sally as well. Luckily for her, she’s met up with a counterpart to Gor, a nice policeman brain from the planet Arous called Vol. He has taken over Sally’s dog. Together, the duo plots a way for Steve to destroy Gor without being harmed.

Any way you slice it, The Brain from Planet Arous is a ripe stinky piece of 1950s cheese. But the film’s sheer outrageousness is what makes this cheese fun to sniff. The wild ideas that screenwriter Ray Buffum presents in the film are too grandiose to be accomplished properly on the film’s ridiculously low budget (around $58,000). But that didn’t matter to producer Jacques Marquette. He simply decided that they would present all of Buffum’s ideas and it didn’t matter if it looked credible or not. So model airplanes are destroyed while pieces remain on their obvious wires after exploding. The evil brain is basically a big silly balloon which reduces viewers to fits of laughter. And at the beginning of the film, the landing of Gor’s ship is represented by a sparkler! Through all of this, all the actors give it their best shot. John Agar tries really hard as the possessed scientist, and Joyce Meadows is fine as Agar’s concerned girlfriend. But the best performance has to go to Dale Tate who turns in a lively performance as the evil Gor. Director Nathan Juran (here slumming as Nathan Hertz) does what he can, but even he is hampered by the film’s low budget. So he decides to play up Gor’s obvious sexual interest in Sally to keep the plot percolating along. The Brain from Planet Arous is a bad film, but it throws so many ideas out in its brief 71 minutes, that the film winds up a fun guilty pleasure for many sci-fi fans.

Quotable Movie Line: “I can’t be destroyed and any attempt by any means to do so will bring forth reprisals that will shock the world.”



3. FIEND WITHOUT A FACE (Amalgamated [UK] - MGM [US], 1958) Director: Arthur Crabtree

The Canadian town of Winthrop, Manitoba is a quaint, sleepy community whose main problem seems to be that the nearby American air base’s jet fighters are causing the local cattle to stop giving milk. However, there are suddenly a lot of strange deaths in the area. Local folks are turning up dead with their brains and spinal columns missing. The locals thinks there’s a maniac from the nearby base on the loose, but Air Force Major Jeff Cummings (Marshall Thompson) thinks it has something to do with the experiments of Professor Walgate (Kynaston Reeves) who’s been trying to move objects through telekinesis. It seems that the kindly professor has been draining power from the air base’s atomic reactor for his experiments. He finally succeeds in moving an object, but then he finds that he’s also done something far worse. He’s created a colony of invisible thought creatures who feed on brains and spinal columns. It’s up to Thompson and a few others to stop the meningial munching menaces before everyone is consumed.

Fiend without a Face is pretty tough going for the first 40 minutes or so. It’s dull and tedious as the squared-jawed Thompson goes from point A to point B trying to find out who the murderer is. But once it’s discovered that the killers are sentient creatures that look like brains and spinal cords, the film really comes to life. The monsters are created via stop motion, and the men credited with bringing them to life (Florenz von Nordhoff and K.L. Ruppel) do a wonderful job of it. The monsters have such life and vigor that it’s easy to forget the film’s slow buildup. Another plus is that the film’s climax, set in Dr. Walgate’s home, takes a page right out of Howard Hawk’s The Thing from another World as a small group of survivors must fight for their life against an army of deadly creatures.  This lively and exciting finish helps elevate Fiend without a Face into an enjoyable 1950s sci-fi monster flick.

Quotable Movie Line: “Well, at least they’re mortal!”



4. THE SPACE CHILDREN (Paramount, 1958) Director: Jack Arnold

At a top secret military base along the California coast, research is continuing on the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) “The Thunderer.” An assorted group of children, whose fathers work on the project, gather each day to play. One day this group is walking along the beach when they see a bright shaft of light come out of the sky. They follow the beam which leads them to a nearby cave. They go inside and find a glowing pulsating brain. At first frightened, they soon come to realize that the alien brain means them no harm. They decide to protect it and listen to the thought waves that emanate from the alien.  It seems that the ever expanding brain has a keen interest in the new ICBM…

The Space Children was the last sci-fi film directed by the great Jack Arnold. It was his first film for Paramount, so he really wanted to try and say something important. Arnold juxtaposes the power of the children’s innocence and love with the destructive power of The Thunderer. It’s a delicate balance, and the director manages to pull it off. The Space Children is a sweet film about love winning out over hate. The children carry out the alien’s will and help sabotage the missile while the alien protects the children and gives them special powers. Arnold uses the California coastal scenes to emphasize the loneliness of the base in much the same way as he used the desert in his earlier films for Universal. This really adds to the eeriness of the film. Another plus is the alien brain which was brought to life by Paramount technician Ivyl Burks. It’s weird and wonderful all at the same time. All of the young actors give earnest performances which help sell the fantastic aspects of the film. While not his best sci-fi film, The Space Children remains Jack Arnold’s sincere farewell to the field of sci-fi cinema.

Quotable Movie Line: “Why are you siding with it against us? We’re your parents. We love you!”



5. JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET (American International, 1961) Director: Sidney Pink

In the year 2001 a team of UN astronauts travel to Uranus (no cheap jokes, please) to discover the source of a strange signal intercepted by earth scientists. There they find a giant evil brain which probes their minds and uses their deepest desires and fears against them. The brain’s ultimate goal is to leave his frozen world behind and live on the tranquil blue planet where our astronauts come from. What can our stalwart heroes (including John Agar and Carl Ottosen) do to prevent this from happening?

Wow, does this film stink. If there ever was an overused sci-fi film idea, it has to be where people’s fears and desires are used against them. And Journey to the Seventh Planet is one of the poorest attempts to use this idea. There is nothing to recommend here. Sidney Pink’s screenplay is hopelessly banal and he presents the astronauts as the biggest bunch of dopes who ever flew in a rocket. None of them can seem to recognize the situation they’re in before it’s too late. In the right hands this could have been an interesting take on the fear and desire theme like Solaris (1972), but instead Pink trots out a bunch of overused monster ideas. The movie also suffers from some terrible special effects. Legend has it that Sam Arkoff of American International was so horrified by the film’s original effects that he had his editors cut in effects from other AI films (including Bert I. Gordon’s Earth vs. the Spider). But one effect Arkoff couldn’t overcome was Sid Pink’s awful brain prop (which has a blinking automobile headlight for an eye!). Journey to the Seventh Planet is a terrible sci-fi film whose ineptitude reaches legendary proportions.

Quotable Movie Line: “You have come to me, feeble stupid men, armed only with courage and foolish weapons. But my weapons are more powerful than yours. Your own fears create the means of your destruction.”


So there’s a quick look at some films that used brains as a menace. It seems to me, however, that if some of these producers had used more of their own cranial power, film fans could have been spared from some real celluloid migraines. Oh and as for the jerk in sixth grade – one day we got into a scuffle on the playground during lunch time. I wound up pushing him to the ground, and he fell in a nice fresh pile of dog poo. It was a hilarious watching him rub his butt up against a tree trying to remove the poo without using his hands. He freaked out and ran home to change his pants. Sister Terenia made me apologize to him, of course. But I had the last laugh – I kept my fingers crossed the whole time.

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Selected References:

Schoell, William. Creature Features. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company Inc. 2008.
Senn, Bryan and Johnson, John. Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. 1992.
Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies (Two Volume Set). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. 1982 and 1986.
Weaver, Tom. Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. 1988.
Weaver, Tom. Attack of the Monster Movie Makers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc. 1994.