1950s Sci Fi/Creature B Movie Flicks HoF

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.

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.

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

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.

__________________
A hundred percent death proof.

Tomato Necromancy - now with Vitamin R!
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...ad.php?t=65140

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:

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

Sent.

Going with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms instead.

Thanks! I'll check it out tomorrow.

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.

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.

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.

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

Lucky you I'm having a busy day at work 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?