1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Super easy, no commitments, anyone can participate and you don't even have to join. So here's how this works:

*Nominate any 1950s Sci Fi B movie under 100 minutes, no obligations to watch. If you choose to watch one or more of the nominations, just post a short write up with your thoughts and rate the movie using MoFo's popcorn scale 1-5.

*If you chose to watch all the nominations you'll still do the same as above. I will pro-rate the movie rating scores so that people who only watch a few of these will still have the same amount of vote power.

*I'll post the nominations as they come in and as soon as you see a movie posted you can watch it if you want. This will be over at the end of February and that's when I will post the movie winner which is the movie with the most points.

Ratings for the noms, these are linked to the write ups:

Attack of the Crab Monsters
Allaby
Citizen
Siddon
Thief
Torgo

Creature With The Atom Brain
Citizen
Siddon
Thief
Torgo

Destination Moon
Allaby
Citizen
Siddon

Gog
Allaby
Citizen
Siddon
Torgo

The Abominable Snowman
Allaby
Citizen
Siddon

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
Citizen
Siddon
Thief
Torgo

The Blob
Citizen
Siddon
Thief
Torgo

The Deadly Mantis
Citizen
Kaplan
Siddon
Thief
Torgo

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
Citizen
Siddon
Torgo

The Tingler
Allaby
Citizen
Siddon
Torgo


.

Yes, I'm in. I'm not letting those nasty monsters keep me away!

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Not sure if I'll watch every nomination, but I'll join.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Well, I can throw something out and see if I can watch a couple.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IBbkZmgBvb..._poster_02.jpg

The Tingler is a fun watch, especially if you watch it with the context of when and how it was marketed and released. Even if you can't fully get the theater experience, you can put yourself in the audience's shoes at the time and try to imagine how it was. Plus, it stars the always deliciously wicked Vincent Price.

Rating: ?

That's perfect! And yup you don't have to watch anything, cool if you can watch some🙂 These movies are short! usually just over an hour so easy to watch.

Ha, I swear every creature that could be mutated or grow giant did so in the 50s!

Perfect. I wanted to try something different to hopefully get more people involved.

I’m in!

Cool!

I'll post all the movies we got so far tomorrow.

It will be a few hours before I get home from work and decide what to nominate. Will probably go with a blind watch

I might go with a blind watch too for my nom, I'm not sure...soooo many good choices.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

One of my favorite genres. Here's my pick:




https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...adlymantis.JPG







The Deadly Mantis is one of my all-time favs. The creature effects are remarkably good for a 50's B-movie, especially the shot in the tunnel at the end. The only downside is a mostly "generic" cast who sleepwalk their way through the movie. They should have gotten a bigger name to carry the movie. James Whitmore comes to mind.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

^Cool I just got that movie too but haven't seen it yet. I love giant bugs!:eek:

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

AMT models made three giant monster kits - spider, scorpion and mantis... so I HAD to build the mantis one:




https://imgur.com/a/MiHJoBc

Damn! That is wickedly cool, love it. Did you build the town set too?

OK so the Noms are up on the 1st post and if we get more I'll add them there. Also on the 1st post I'll link the write-ups/ratings for each movie. So keep an eye on the 1st post.

Right now we have a neat collection:
The Tingler (1959)
Director: William Castle
Length: 1h 22m
Nominated by: Thief

The Deadly Mantis (1957)
Director: Nathan Juran
Length: 1h 19m
Nominated by: Death Proof

Creature With the Atom Brain (1955)
Director: Edward Cahn
Length: 1h 9m
Nominated by: Allaby


The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Director: Eugène Lourié
Length: 1h 20m
Nominated by: SpelingError


Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)
Director: Roger Corman
Length: 1h 3m
Nominated by: Citizen Rules

These are so short I think I'll watch a couple tonight:eek:

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

These all look like fun!

Thanks - it's mostly a cardboard base and backdrop that comes with the set, but the one building, dock, and caboose are models. I wasn't happy with the way the window frames came out but I thought the dock came out very good.

I'm in! These days, if a movie is over 100 minutes, I probably won't watch it, so this is (Ric Ocasek voice) just what I needed.

Torgo just PMed his nom:

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
Director: Nathan Juran
Length: 1h 28m
Nominate by: Torgo

That's two movies directed by Nathan Juran, someone I never heard of until this morning:D

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

I'd like to nominate Destination Moon (1950) - one of the more realistic sci-fi's of the time with some ironic prophesies toward the real moon shots.

Good one, I might have watched that on your recommendation sometime in the past. I've been meaning to watch it again.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

So that's two more tasty choices for us to pick from. These were just added to the 1st post:

The Blob (1958)
Director: Irvin S Yeaworth Jr
Length: 1h 26min
Nominated by: Mesmerized

Destination Moon (1950)
Director: Irving Pichel
Length: 1h 32m
Nominated by: Captain Steel

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Not exactly "realistic" but it's enjoyable, one of my favorite creature features, directed by Jack Arnold in his early career monster phase - Tarantula, 1955. It has John Agar getting to the bottom of things, Mara Corday looking appealing, Leo G Carroll for wrinkles as well as an uncredited early appearance by Clint Eastwood as a fighter plane pilot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtU1YYxQXJw

Cool! Yet another neat sci fi creature flick that I had planned on watching. You guys must have read my mind when you picked your noms or maybe you have one of these nifty helmets:p
https://external-content.duckduckgo....3f4&ipo=images

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Looking forward to a couple of these. The only one I've seen, other than The Tingler, is The Blob. It is fun, but I prefer the remake.

For anyone interested, I had an article published on Leonard Maltin's website where I compared both the original and remake.

ORIGINAL VS. REMAKE: THE BLOB (1958) VS. THE BLOB (1988)

Enjoy!

You must be very young.

https://media.tenor.com/H05SVWGfp1cA...club-brian.gif

Thank you!


But seriously, I'm an 80's kid, so I guess the remake was more akin to my sensibilities. In that article I get a bit into why I prefer the remake.

There are other similar cases where it's not that clear. For example, I'm kinda on the fence between both The Fly films. Then again, those are two very different films, so I like both for very different reasons.

I can understand that. Now I love 1950s stuff but I'm not a 50's kid, I wasn't even born then...I just like how in the 50s sci-fi b movies blossomed and were like everywhere.



The remake of The Fly is IMO one of the few truly great remakes. Though the original had a lot of heart with a lot more going for it than just a fly creature. Both are rather sad and effective.

Same. I've always been very interested in these kinds of films, which is why I'm looking forward to dig into some of these.

Still searching for my nomination. I’ll think of one probably tonight

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

How about "gog" (1954) a murder mystery that takes place in a robotics lab?

:up:

Check this out, the Kitchen of the Future in the 1950s.
https://external-content.duckduckgo....302&ipo=images

Will this be a future Movie Loot episode subject, possibly?

I have Gog, but have never seen it. A lot of these 50s sci-fi/creature films are in the public domain so easy to find. Were you choosing Gog as your nomination? Or just asking if we've seen it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5jfCb6-2RA



I was going to nominate this one or Rodan but I went with a Hammer film instead.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Egmbv6TIY

Yeah it is my nomination and no I haven't seen it. I think it is available on Prime streaming.

Right on, I'll add that to the 1st post just as fast as my fingers will type:D

Two more to choose from:D These just came in:
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...chmentid=91186
The Abominable Snowman (1957)

https://www.movieforums.com/communit...chmentid=91187
Gog (1954)

Possibly. Every topic is a possible loot! :willem:

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

I'll probably use a random number generator to determine which films I end up watching from this thread.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

I'm going to try and watch all of them (unless I get eaten by a monster before I finish).

Me too...I mean watch all the noms:p Monsters be damned!

I watched Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957). I thought this was alright. There were some amusing moments, but it could have used more of the crab monsters. I did like the design of the crab monsters. Acting was mediocre though. The story was alright for this type of film. I've seen 11 Roger Corman films. This one isn't one of his best, but not one of his worst either. I would rank it in the middle of the pack out of the Corman films I have seen. Attack of the Crab Monsters may not be great, but it is watchable.

I watched that one too, I'll write something up tomorrow.

I've been to the movie theater in Phoenixville, PA where they shot the external movie theater scene in the original. They actually have a "Blobfest" (or used to - the pandemic might have quashed it) and show the original movie, plus everyone does the running out of the theater bit afterwards.

I love Rodan. I love Rodan so much I built my own.


https://imgur.com/a/cBpAAGO

Nice! Though I liked the giant Preying Mantis model even more. Think I'll watch The Deadly Mantis (1957) tonight.

Last night I watched my own nom Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957). I've seen it before and really liked it despite it being a 'Z' movie with a micro budget of only $70,000. Which I believe is the smallest budget for any of the noms here. The biggest budget nom is $650,000 for The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

With almost no money, good old Roger Corman the king of b movies churned out a fun and creative flick about telepathic giant crabs. I love the weirdness of this one. Any other director would've said, 'OK giant killer crabs, that's enough.' But not Roger Corman he goes to some lengths to include scientific reasons why the giant crabs are immune to most weapons...their atoms have dislocated electrons that allows matter to freely pass through the crabs and only electricity disrupts their atomic cohesion.

If that's enough the crabs are purposely destroying the island by making huge tunnels so that they can get at the humans. And we see landslides as the island is being reduced to rumble.

But the best part is the whole idea that the former missing researcher's minds still roam on the island. The giant predatory crabs, a mated pair, can talk to people by telepathy by using metal objects as the 'receiver'. They consume humans and absorb their personalities, into the crab's consciousness which is pretty wild! As soon as I seen the bear creature in Annihilation I thought of Attack of the Crab Monsters...and of course Roger Corman thought of that first.

Nice!

I watched The Tingler (1959). Directed by William Castle, The Tingler stars the legendary Vincent Price as a pathologist who discovers a parasitic creature. This was fun! Vince Price gives a very entertaining and effective performance. The screenplay is above average for this kind of film. There are some fantastic scenes. The film is creepy and spooky in an enjoyable sort of way. It's a real scream! I've only seen 3 William Castle films so far and this is my favourite of the ones I have seen. I do want to eventually see more. I've now seen 25 Vincent Price films and this would be in his top 5 for me.

Do you live close by there? I lived in Kutztown in the late 90’s-2005 and I’ve been to Phonenixville on occasion, although never for the Blobfest, which I was aware of.

The Deadly Mantis (1957)

Last night I watched this lesser known B sci-fi creature flick. What impressed me was the creative usage of stock military footage. The film nicely incorporates components of the U.S. & Canadian Distant Early Warning Line aka the Dew Line. Which was part of a series of 'radar fences' that spanned across North America in Canada and beyond and was designed for advanced warning for incoming Soviet air bombers...or in the case of the movie a 200 foot long Preying Mantis! Mantis are wickedly cool looking insects that do eat other bugs, so the idea of making one into a monster is pretty cool.

I liked how the movie made the story about the military and their radar stations be the main focus, most everyone we see are military or scientist. The acting was pretty good for a b movie and a couple of the actors went onto to have a notable career. I would have liked to seen that giant Mantis pick someone up and bite off his head for a midnight snack!

@Death Proof thanks for the fun movie!

The Blob (1958) -

Don't you hate when an object from space lands in your small town that unleashes a slime that threatens your neighbors and engulfs your hangouts? That hasn't happened to me, but as this movie demonstrates, it's pretty scary. The movie uses a "less is more" approach like Jaws does when it comes to showing the monster, and for the most part, it's successful. Steve and his pals' warnings being constantly dismissed effectively builds suspense, and even though the monster is a pile of fake jelly, I got a jolt (no pun intended) every time it’s on screen. Also, as Messiah of Evil, Demons and this movie demonstrate, there are few scarier set pieces than movie theaters, and isn't Burt Bacharach's theme song a banger?

Despite liking how it builds suspense, I wish there were a little more action than talk, and labor laws for children and teenagers must have been different in the '50s than they are now, but I wish the actors playing the teenagers were a bit younger. From the look of them, the cops might as well have been in high school as well! The movie remains a classic monster tale that proves there are consequences to dismissing the intelligent and the warnings of younger generations. Oh, and 80 cents for a movie ticket? Those must have been the days...

Unfortunately, no - I'm in South Jersey near Philly. It's about an hour drive for me.



It sucks because they have a beautiful old-style movie theater there and they show classic movies all the time. If I lived closer I'd be there every other weekend.


Last time I was there they showed The Holy Grail.


I might have to make it out there in April for Silent Running - I'm not quite old enough to have seen the original in theaters.


https://thecolonialtheatre.com/

https://media.tenor.com/lNMyjjSWLYcA...man-denzel.gif

Creature With the Atom Brain...this one hooked me right at the start and thanks to it's snappy dialect and efficient direction it kept me hooked. It's neat in that it's basically a noir crime film and like so many of those from the 1950s it's based on police procedural of a strange case. A very strange case of dead people being remotely controlled and powered by radium. For a b budget film I was impressed with the number of shooting locations and sets. I especially liked the mad scientist lab with it's walls covered in lead shielding to stop the U.S. military from detecting the radiation. The 'control device' they planted in the heads of the corpses was cool! And the technological explanation about how the dead could be remotely controlled sounded at least like it made some sense.
@Allaby I enjoyed the movie!

I'm glad you enjoyed the movie. Otherwise, I would have had to send my pet monster after you. He is an atomic tingling giant alien crab bug. He is cuter than he sounds though. His name is Larry.

I watched Destination Moon (1950). Directed by Irving Pichel, this Oscar winning film is about the first manner rocket to the moon. The film plays it mostly serious and for the subject matter and time is somewhat realistic. There are no creatures, monsters, or aliens in the film. The film is competently made and performances are decent. The film drags a little at times and can be a bit boring. It's not really a fun movie. I did enjoy the surprise celebrity appearance by a special star of that time. ;)

Ha!:p...

One scene that I loved was when the husband comes home dead tired and his wife makes him a martini. He tells her "I've been waiting for this all day." But before he can even drink it, a fellow cop comes to the door and says he has to come down to the precinct. Duty calls and so he grabs his coat and hat and heads out the door, handing his wife the martini. This is the cool part, she looks at the drink and considers it and then cautiously takes a little sip and...scrunches up her face...I guess that martini was extra dry!

That little extra added life to the characters and I appreciate that in all the films I watch.

At this juncture I'll mention Roky Erickson - he was a musician who produced several songs that were based on old horror & sci-fi movies. One of these was Creature with the Atom Brain. Erickson would sometimes even incorporate his rendition of pieces of the movies' soundtracks into the songs as he does with this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVcK2BRvCgU

The Abominable Snowman (1957)

Oh! this was a good one. If you guys only watch a couple of these, you might want to consider this little known gem. I was impressed by how serious the film takes itself, it's not a cheesy fun film...Instead it's well written and thought provoking, much along the lines of The Day The Earth Stood Still.

First off I was impressed with the world building as the film immerses the viewer in the world of a high altitude Tibetan monk monastery. The monastery set was convincing and I loved the actual footage of the expedition into the Himalayan mountains. I just read that those scenes were shot on the Pyrénées in France. Even the studio scenes where we see the actors close up still match the overall look of the Himalayan mountains.

The third act was an unexpected plus as I hadn't expected a deeper philosophical view from the film. I haven't seen many Hammer films but if The Abominable Snowman is any indication of their quality of work I'll have to watch more from that studio. +
@Siddon Good one!

Gog (1954)

Really good movie, really bad movie poster! I swear when I seen the movie poster I thought this would be a fun but super cheesy film...I mean it is named Gog and in 3D. Boy was I wrong! This is a smart film, very science orientated and detailed. It was also quite surprising in just how grisly the deaths in this film are. The print I seen was restored and looked great especially as it was done in color. Look for the early product placement from the Coca Cola company.

@beelzebubble Thanks for a very different sci fi b film! I enjoyed it.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms -

The opening credits for this movie really raised my anticipation since they have two of my favorite Rays, i.e., Bradbury and Harryhausen. While it wasn't fully paid off, I still had a good time. A common trait of movies like this one is scenes requiring our heroes to convince others of something that is very hard to believe, usually to no avail. The scenes that prove that Professor Nesbitt and company are not just making things up are always satisfying, especially since each one is a win for science, which as we know doesn't always happen in the real world. Harryhausen's animation of the dinosaur is up to his high standards, especially during its attack on New York, which also seems so real due to how many extras it features. The practical effects of the building destruction in this scene and others like the one with the lighthouse deserve praise as well as prove that the real thing is no substitute for CGI.

With that said, I like it, but I don't quite love it: for one, it could have been a little less about the science and more about the characters. I would have liked more "coffee chats" with Tom and Lee, in other words. Also, the scene where it's revealed that the dinosaur is carrying infectious diseases isn't paid off to my liking. I still had a good time overall, and if anything, I have an easy recommendation for someone who wants to see a movie like this that's not subtle about the dangers of meddling with nuclear weapons.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...yotDw&usqp=CAU

The Blob (1958)

The Blob is a classic of the genre...doesn't mean it's a good film. As a matter of fact when it comes to the script and performances from the actors it's Plan 9 From Outer Space level bad. Steve McQueen is near thirty and Aneta Corsaut is her mid twenties and they look it. But they are supposed to play teenagers hiding from their parents...the comedy for me is in later scenes McQueen kept his wedding ring on. That is objectionably terrible writing, casting, and directing. And a lot of the supporting cast is just bad and weird even for the genre.

The flip side though is Thomas E. Spalding's cinematography is incredible. At times I felt like I was watching a Sirk film with the angle's and the shot compositions. I was bored listening to the actors speak for most of the film but I was never bored with what I saw on the screen. The FX in the film are practical and gorgeous you kinda know how they are doing it but you also don't care because it's so well shot.

Destination Moon (1950)

I seen this like 10 years ago and I believe it was Captain Steel who told me about back then. On my second watch I liked it even better. This time around I appreciated the first half of the film more with it's explanation about how U.S. industries came together to put a man on the moon. It's not the U.S. government doing the moon launch, it's big business. Sound familiar?

I also appreciated the striking similarities between this 1950 sci fi and the actual Apollo moon mission. Now this is from memory and I didn't bother to Google any of it, but I believe there was a probe sent to Mars in the 90s, who's high gain antenna was 'froze' because some technician lubed the antenna's gear and the lube froze in the coldness of space. That same thing happens in the movie. I also remember that Neil Armstrong on Apollo 11 upon decent to the moon's surface couldn't find a suitable landing spot and had only a few seconds of fuel left when he finally put down the craft. The same scenario happens in the movie.

Destination Moon gets a lot of things right and did it almost 20 years before we actually landed on the moon. As a movie today it might not be the funnest b-sci-fi flick I've seen...but...it held my attention and I found it interesting. mainly for the realism.
@Captain Steel Thanks!

Attack of the Crab Monsters -

Like so many other '50s B-movies, this is another cautionary tale about using nuclear weapons. Even though the monster is not a giant lizard, it doesn’t deviate from their formula that much, but I still had a pretty good time. From the radio being sabotaged to the island literally and randomly becoming smaller, the stakes are high, and there's something very creepy about the crabs speaking in their victims' voices as if they are ghosts haunting them. Speaking of the crabs, that they absorb their prey's bodies and retain their personalities is a clever touch and makes me wonder if they inspired the aliens in John Carpenter's The Thing. Also, for the whole thing coming across like it was filmed over a weekend at a rich friends' house, kudos goes to the performers for keeping things professional and taking the material as seriously as anyone could possibly take a story about killer crabs, which is undoubtedly due to the Roger Corman touch. Again, it treads pretty familiar territory; plus, our heroes could have used a bit more personality. I’m still glad I watched it, and if anything, I admire its makers' resourcefulness.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

I'm gonna try to sneak one of these tonight.

Didn't you say that before:D

Vincent Price is always a treat. I've seen a couple of his films and he's always the highlight.

As for Castle, I've only seen The Tingler and House on Haunted Hill. Both a lot of fun.

In this thread? Nah.

http://www.moriareviews.com/rongulat...Brain-1955.jpg
Creature with the Atom Brain

Low budget film making is an art form in it's own right. Often times filmmakers miss the little things or take short cuts that hurt the film. Creature with the Atom Brain doesn't do that. I am very glad I watched this after The Blob because while The Blob had better FX this was the better film.

This is like a weird sci-fi noir where a group of cops are hunting a mysterious Nazi scientist and his gangster employees. The casting was done right here...all the guys are in their 40's and 50's which is what the story needs. The set pieces are perfect simple and clean giving us that retro-science fiction look that we need from this era. But the other thing is how the monsters are just a little bit bigger than the cops. It's a little touch like that, that is so nice to see.

My only complaint is that the story isn't as cohesive as it needs to be. Another 10-15 minutes of runtime to tighten up the plot would have been perfect this was something that I enjoyed very much.

https://www.scifi-movies.com/images/...660/image3.jpg
Destination Moon (1950)

An historical oddity of a film, this was made 20 years prior to the Apollo missions and they managed to get a number of things correct. They also got a number of things wrong but still as a historical piece it's an interesting watch. The issue with the film is that it's also a fairly dull story likely wasn't dull in 1950 but it's pretty dull now.

Four astronauts go to the moon they have an old guy a captain a side kick and some other guy. Nobody stands out in this film accept for Joe who is really really really annoying. I don't know if right now I can think of an offensive Italian American stereotype that was as bad as Joe. His job in the film is to in essence be an idiot and ask dumb questions...also he cracks wise about the starting pitcher for the Dodgers and the hot date he's got. It was just cringey....and a distraction.

It's a really shame the film has that distraction because the matte painting is undeniably gorgeous(though we know the Moon doesn't look like that) and many of the effects looked pretty good for 1950. Still I found my mind drifting I don't even remember what caused the third act to get set up and this is an hour after watching it. I didn't hate the film but I also didn't enjoy it I was just fascinated by it as a historical piece.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

I watched some time back when I was watching the Ray Harryhausen movies. The plus is the stop motion animation and the way Harryhausen gives the illusion of life to the giant dinosaur. In one scene the soldiers fire at it and it turns around to avoid being directly hit by fire. That scene added alot but it made me feel sorry for the creature who was only doing what it was born to do. It was refreshing to see that the scientist who had a German accent wasn't evil but was a handsome and smart man. Cecil Kellaway is always a joy to see on the screen. The story itself didn't do much for me, but the destruction scenes in the city were done well.

Thanks @SpelingError

https://alexonfilm.files.wordpress.c...tis1.jpg?w=584

The Deadly Mantis (1957)

I applaud the naked theft of The Thing From Another World, Tarantula, and Them!...this was like the Tarantino of B-movie monster films!. This is one of those films that's fun but it's also not really that great. The film lives and dies based on the Mantis effect and you can't really make the Mantis move so through out the film the filmmaker makes a number of efforts to keep the puppeteers right off frame.

While the film rips off a lot of other B-Movies the first act is really solid in the arctic. It would have been better if they would have stayed their and tried killing off members of the cast like a Creature from the Black Lagoon. Taking the film to a second location was a mistake because what were the stakes for the film?

The Deadly Mantis -

Of all the '50s movie monsters, I'm the most glad that this one doesn't exist. Considering how much ice has melted over the years, we'd be swarmed with them! But anyway, I had a lot of fun with this movie which if anything, defines resourcefulness. The mantis is not the most expensive looking puppet and the buildings and vehicles it ransacks are obviously models, but I still found it terrifying. The scale of the creature in the models makes him seem humongous and that buzzing noise is bound to haunt me. While more talk than action seems to be a trademark of this genre, this one had just enough cake and frosting, if you will. It helps that the character scenes intersperse the technobabble with more romance and comedy than I expected like all the scenes where the military men are overjoyed to see a woman. It's also nice to see a finale that trades action for horror for a change. In short, I had a lot of fun with this and can imagine it being a gateway movie for this genre. Oh, and that Italian boat captain is so stereotypical, he might as well be wearing a chef's hat and flipping pizza dough.

Has anyone seen the MST3K version of this movie? Is it any good?

Yeah, that buzzing noise it made when it flew was my favorite part, nicely done. But I wish instead of 'roaring like a giant lion' when attacking it instead made a series of loud clicks...That would've been freaky.

Agreed, a roaring insect would be pretty terrifying, but a more insect-like sound would have been more appropriate.

I'm two for two for Nathan Juran movies now. I'll have to check out more of his work. Looks like he also made B-movie classics Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Jack the Giant Killer.

Very good point

How do you guys feel about the flimmaker doing basically the same ending as Them!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcVRtAwJMas

Or this is a film that you haven't seen....because that kind of colored my feelings of this film quite a bit.

I've seen Them and plan on rewatching it sometime, I don't remember the ending to well but yeah The Deadly Mantis seemed a lot like Them.

I haven't seen Jack the Giant Killer, but I did see Attack of the 50 Foot Woman like a few days before I made this thread. That movie and Siddon's review of I Married a Monster from Outer Space gave me the idea for this thread.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Just finished Creature with the Atom Brain. I'll write more later, but it sure was a lot of fun.

Casually, this is the second film I see from Edward L. Cahn in the last two months, since I saw Twelve Hours to Kill in December.

Glad you liked it, it was a good one. I'll check back tomorrow and read your review...I seen The Blob for the second time and thought it was well done and loads of fun. I'll write a little something up tomorrow.

The Blob...This reminded me of Rebel Without a Cause and Steve McQueen seemed like a James Dean type. In the opening scene, which is my favorite, we have Steve (Steve McQueen) and Jane (Aneta Corsaut) parked at a teenage 'lovers lane'. The scene rang true with a shy 'nice girl' being weary of the young man's intentions. She accuses him of handing her a line about the stars so that he can kiss her again. And this is where McQueen becomes the sincere and 'deep' outsider as we learn that he's indeed very interested in the stars. This scene then begins to cement the bond between these two people who apparently are just getting to know each other...that bond grows throughout the film culminating in Jane risky her life to help Steve.

"No, no, it's not what you think, Janey girl."
"My name is Jane, just Jane."

Just those two lines told me so much about these people and their relationship to each other.

Of course I loved the setting of the film in a real small town, that added so much realism to the film. The 'no one will believe the delinquent teens' take, which is another reason the film reminded me of Rebel Without A Cause....so did the harassment by the town's teens with their challenge to race McQueen. Though it was an odd tonal shift as after that conformation the other teens seem to be McQueens best friends. The blob looked great and the film was suspenseful.


Nice choice @Mesmerized

Creature with the Atom Brain -

This is a fun police procedural that deserves credit for how it exploits the fears of the atomic age in an unlikely way: reanimating the dead Frankenstein's monster style. It has such a clever concept, and maybe this has happened already (Possessor, which I haven't seen, sounds similar), but I'm surprised no one has remade it yet. It's a "thinking person's" B-movie and it's not ashamed of it, which is to the movie's benefit as the exposition that respects the audience's intelligence indicates. Also, for a movie from a decade I'm still hesitant to fully explore due to the typically long runtimes and not-so-steady paces, the breakneck one in this movie makes it more akin to '70s crime thrillers. As for the creature (or is it creatures?), they're terrifying for what they don't do rather than what they do. There's something very off-putting about seeing someone cause death and destruction without showing any concern or remorse for their actions.

Again, I approve of the fast pace, but it could have let up a little bit here and there since the relentlessness made me lose interest a few times. I also think some of the exposition, especially in the third act, is excessive. With that said, as much as I like '50s B-movies that have atomic lizards and insects, it's a nice change of pace to see one with atomic, umm...people as the villains for a change, not to mention one that's so much fun. Oh, and speaking of the "creatures" being more fitting than "creature," shouldn't the title be Creatures With Atomic Brains instead? My first thought was that it's about a creature with a really, really small brain.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Just finished Attack of the Crab Monsters. A lot of fun :D

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad -

While considered a B-movie, this has the potential to be one of the best fantasy movies I've ever seen, or at least the most fun one. Nathan Juran's direction is a well-oiled machine for how every scene has something enjoyable in it. There's also a welcome buildup and release between each moment of fun so you never feel like it's being crammed down your throat. In other words, Michael Bay must have skipped the showing of this movie while he was in film school. The cast are no slouches either, the highlight for me being Torin Thatcher's scenery-chewing performance as the devious Sokurah, which must have been a fun role to play. Also, with its vibrant Technicolor, detailed sets and Spanish shooting locations, the movie is simply a joy to look at. Now, let me finally praise the movie's secret weapon: Ray Harryhausen. Not only is each of his claymation inventions from the cyclops to that poor baby roc to my favorite, the skeleton knight, impossible to look away from while they're on screen, they have near-seamless integration with the performers. Then again, is Bernard Herrmann the real MVP? The movie has one of his best scores, particularly during the skeleton knight battle, which features an instrument I would describe as a bone xylophone.

Are there any noticeable flaws? Not really. While I could mention that Sinbad is never properly introduced - I'm much more familiar with the one who was in Houseguest, I might add - it's because he doesn't need to be; after all, the character is in three feature films released not too long before this one, so he was sort of a superhero of his era. Not to mention, early on, I expected to criticize the marginalization of Parisa's character - no pun intended - as a mere damsel in distress. Thankfully, she's more than that and actually uses her new size to her advantage. All in all, it's a very fun fantasy adventure that stands alongside several that came after it that have more advanced and/or larger budgeted special effects. Oh, and if you don't think a scene with a claymation creature can bring you to tears, watch this.

One of Harryhausen's best.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Creature with the Atom Brain follows police doctor Chet Walker (Richard Denning) as he tries to stop atom-powered creatures unleashed by Frank Buchanan (Michael Granger), a criminal on the run that wants to get revenge on his enemies. To do this, Frank has recruited ex-Nazi scientist Wilhelm Steigg (Gregory Gaye) whom he is forcing to work for him.

This is the second film from Edward L. Cahn I've seen in the last 2 months; the first one being another B-movie titled 12 Hours to Kill. There is something very pleasant and comforting about his economical approach to these two. If it has to do with skill or just the limitations of the film, I don't know. The truth is that both films work really well for what they are.

The tension in the film is well handled and Buchanan makes for a decent, moustache-twirling villain. The creatures, with their Frankenstein-like stitched heads, might seem silly but I found their mindless lumbering to be creepy enough within the setting. I also liked the way they tried to explain the logistics behind the brain implant that allows Buchanan and Steigg to control them.

Denning is also pretty effective as the lead, although he acts more like a detective than a police doctor. The 69 minute length is also a big plus, considering what the film has to work with. Some other films would've bothered with senseless exposition, or bloated backstories, but from the opening scene, Cahn knows what we're here for. We just want to see people die.

Grade:

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Not sure if it was brought up here, but anybody has a link for The Deadly Mantis? Can't find it anywhere.

Sent.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Going with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms instead.

Thanks! I'll check it out tomorrow.

https://i0.wp.com/bloody-disgusting....bom2.png?ssl=1

The Abominable Snowman (1957)

Hammer films is well known today but it was just starting to really break out in 1957. It had two directions to go in...the franchise route with Frankenstein, Dracula etc. and the original route with this. Personally I prefer this So the basic premise of the story is you have two groups that are heading into the mountains to find the yeti. One group led by Peter Cushing as a fairly idealistic botanist the other more sinister group led by Forrest Tucker.

This is a thinking man's monster movie...which are to me the best ones. Anyone who ever watched any of those Big Foot or Paranormal Activity shows knows that 25% is exposition, 25% is atmosphere, 30% is the conflict with the cast. And that really is what this film is...what elevates it above everything else is that it's a mountain movie shot in glorious wide screen. But then it's also a monster movie where the suspense is what's happening outside the tent and view of the audience. And then you get the third layer as the human characters are all well defined and they leave the film one by one.

Val Guest is a fantastic film maker so many of the shot in this film look so good. He treats the tibeten monks with a degree of respect and reverence that you don't always see in films like this. The characters are well defined they don't just exist to die and their motives aren't simply black and white. You have complicated characters...in a monster B movie.

Anyways I love this film it's one of my personal favorites of all-time I hope some of you bother to check it out over the next week.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...XjPxg&usqp=CAU

The Tingler (1959)

William Castle was sort of the anti-Hitchcock, Hitch's film always felt high brow and ornate type films where you had gimmicks but they were things like real time or framing or killing the lead at the end of the first act. Castle wanted shocks in seats, skeletons down the isles and actors giving out insurance at the door. Now when we look back at the films I'm almost charmed by what Castle did.

I'm not going to pretend that the Tingler is a perfect film...but as a man who nominated a film with a werewolf break (shoutout to The Beast Must Die) I love this stuff even if it's an achor. And look this film has a lot of good going for it. It's not just the gimmick the creature is effective and it moves and feels real and different. And you have one scene in the second act where Castle does something different and it is spooky and well made.

You've also got Vincent Price playing his best type of character the misanthrope with the bad wife. Price is the perfect anti-hero because he's naturally creepy but he has a warmth to the character. The other performances and very strong as well, especially for a B-picture. Several of the actors came from the stage and you can kinda tell this is a touch that Castle did with his work.

I'm not going to pretend to say the film is perfect but it's perfect for me.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Think I'll check out The Tingler tonight. I've seen it once, but years ago when I was watching William Castle films. Like Roger Corman, Castle adds in those nice little extras that makes his films so satisfying to watch.

Re: 1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF
 

Had a slow day at work, so I managed to sneak in The Deadly Mantis!

Lucky you:p I'm having a busy day at work:eek: OK back to work for me.

Trivia: the creature in The Tingler (1959) bore a remarkable resemblance to the creatures that Khan placed in the ears of Captain Terrell & Chekov in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).

I always wondered if the ear-borers had been inspired by the Tingler?