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Reviews
It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)
"For the Record, Are You Tied Up?"
It Came From Beneath the Sea is A) a typical 50s monster movie about a giant octopus contaminated by radiation which goes on a rampage in the Pacific; B) a movie with some great special effects provided by Ray Harryhausen; and C) a good sci-fi movie with a tepid love triangle.
The movie shares many genre conventions of 50s giant monster movies, which is a good thing. Some standard elements include: Alpha males woo an attractive female scientist, lots of military toys go into action, authority figures eventually recognize the danger but their actions cannot solve the problem, the threat is a consequence of nuclear testing, the situation can only be properly understood and resolved by a combination of expert scientist and action hero (the alpha male).
It Came From Beneath the Sea features an atomic submarine as the centerpiece military toy. However, in the movie, we are shown old WWII diesel submarine types (stock substitutions are all just part of the fun of 50s movies). There is lots of other military hardware in action - search and rescue aircraft, helicopters, flamethrowers and so on. And we get a glimpse of 50s Pax Americana, as the US just arbitrarily shuts down all north Pacific shipping, thereby halting trade on three continents, and does not disclose their reasons to any other nation. Nice!
Although It Came From Beneath The Sea is a good movie, it could be better. The problem is that there is little drama or tension (aside from the opening scene in the submarine, which is excellent) until almost an hour into the picture. Finally, when the monster attacks San Francisco the pace picks up and the action gets goofy in that 50s monster movie style we all know and love. Of course the two alpha males each have to personally fight the monster one at a time! It is all good stuff and the stop motion effects of the rampaging octopus tearing apart the San Fransico waterfront makes the movie worthwhile.
As in many movies there is a love triangle, but it is not well handled here. The serious scientist character of Dr. John Carter (Donald Curtis) has little dramatic impact because he does not deliver any romantic competition. If there is any conflict in the love triangle, it is a contrast between the detached intellectual (who does not get the girl) and the wolfish man of action (who does). But I felt cheated because there were no fireworks or conflict between the two men. The main alpha male, Cmdr. Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey), is terrific as a tough, wolfish submarine commander (yet for some reason he also supervises the scientists and their onshore research). The love interest, Dr. Lesley Joyce (Faith Domergue), is one of the "...new breed of woman that feels they are just as smart and courageous as men." Her character alternates between domineering scientist and sultry seductress, which is confusing (but fun). The problem with the love triangle is that it takes a long time to never develop. All three characters get along just fine and are good friends from start to finish.
For me, a truly enjoyable 50s monster movie must have lots of head shaking, bizarre moments. What about It Came From Beneath the Sea?
-The pick up scene at the lab. Talk about predatory! Pete physically backs Lesley into a corner just after they first meet, (smoking a cigarette with a 'No Smoking' sign in the background) and gets deep into her personal space. Far from being uncomfortable, Lesley responds to his predation with sultry innuendo while she suggestively caresses a test tube.
-Lesley extracts information from a survivor of a ship sunk by the octopus. The survivor is afraid to talk about his experience to the doctors because he is afraid of being declared insane (typical 50s fear of non-normal). In a nearby meeting room, Lesley announces to the several men in the room that she will try to talk to the survivor. She stands up, strips off her sweater and tosses it aside, saunters out of the room, then gets alone with the survivor and seduces the man with practiced skill. Mesermerized by her come on, he tells his tale. Are all female scientists this sexy?
-The beach swim scene makes no plot sense at all. Of course, the purpose of the scene was to get both Pete and Lesley in swimsuits, but there should have been better attention to eye candy. The shot was too brief and too far away. Their embrace is steamy and suggestive, however.
-13 days and nights of research for two premier marine biology experts to find out that a barrel sized piece of creature they examine is from a species of giant octopus. Really? I would have guessed they could make that determination in 13 minutes. I also love how dumping a couple of goldfish in a small tank with a radiated octopus somehow proves that fish have natural Geiger counters and can therefore avoid being eaten by a radioactive creatures...Huh? The goof ball science in these movies is just a joy to watch.
-I really enjoy the beach scene at the jeep where the two alpha males and Lesley discuss the "new breed" of woman. Right after declaring that she is a help in a crisis, the monster attacks the sheriff. She screams helplessly! But what do our alpha males do? Try to rescue the sheriff? No. They bug out at high speed to escape the beast, and in their panic they drive right through the warning gate, smashing it to pieces! Stuff like this that make these old movies so wonderful.
Tarantula (1955)
Unsafe Labratory Practices Unleash Giant Monster
Most of the 50s monster movies played upon the fears of science out of control, with nuclear radiation the usual culprit, but some films opted for more daring notions of doom. The fear of science unleashing devastation on humanity in the form of food nutrients must have seemed far-fetched back in 1955, but it is quite relevant today as lab-created food products and bioengineering become ever more common. The backstory of this movie starts with a group of 3 scientists experimenting with a potential breakthrough in nutrition. From this interesting premise, the research gets crazy in a hurry.
Science in 50s B movies....where do you begin? Half the fun of watching these movies is for the the sheer insanity of the scientists, not only in their behavior, but in their theories. Tarantula features some amazingly oddball science (all taken quite seriously of course) and gives us a close look at unsafe laboratory practices in action. Here's a sample of some of the fun:
--Dangerous and unknown drugs are quickly tested on humans, and if the scientist is that perfect combination of being both enlightened and foolish, he will use himself as the test.
--Scientists physically fighting in the lab. Did this not get covered in Chemistry 101? Never throw beakers full of unknown chemicals at each other or the lab animals!
--Handling the serum. The scientists treat an open beaker of the serum as if it is is super deadly, but once it is in a syringe they are completely nonchalant.
--Giant, easy to read clipboard charts! But shouldn't they at least record weights and measurements at each injection phase in addition to date?
--They never seem to realize that they created a growth serum, instead of a nutritional serum...pay attention to your hypothesis!
--Tasting unknown goo from a puddle on the ground. He did not just do that! Yes, he did.
--The hideous mutation of the scientists is really creepy.
--Also not to be missed, as in most of the B monster movies of this era, is a little educational film about the giant creature in question (in this case tarantulas).
In addition to the science fun, this movie features a sweet and innocent romance between a newly-arrived lab assistant Stephanie 'Steve' Clayton (Mara Corday) and the local doctor Matt Hastings (John Agar). Mara Corday is one of the more capable B sci-fi movie women of the 50s. She is not easily dominated by alpha males and she commands respect from men. In most sci-fi movies of this period, the alpha male dominates the female, breaking down her professional surface until it cracks and her repressed feminine side re-emerges. Marda Corday manages to be fully feminine, yet composed and competent. John Agar plays the young, confident, capable, and likable country doctor. Somehow John Agar manages to play a character like this and make him believable and real.
Oh yeah, there is a giant tarantula too. It rampages around the desert for a while before being killed by jets and napalm. The special effects look okay and the monster is certainly aggressive. Tarantula is a fun movie and one of the top monster movies of the 50s. I love it for the weird science.
Destination Moon (1950)
"For the Benefit of All Mankind"
It is difficult to evaluate Destination Moon, not easy to give it a rating of good or bad. It is a gigantic film, a brilliant landmark in the history of sci-fi movies. Destination Moon set the standard, dialed in the setting and launched 50s space sci-fi. Yet, for all that, is it watchable today in the 21st century? Or are modern viewers so distracted by the dated and corny elements that they lose sight of the sheer genius of the film?
Bear in mind that Destination Moon was made at a time when everything we knew about the moon came from a telescope. The most advanced rockets in the world were an aging handful of captured German military V-2s, left over from WWII and sparingly launched from the desert of White Sands, New Mexico.
Desination Moon set the standard for rocketshps of the 50s. Spaceship Luna introduces the style that would come to dominate the decade. Luna is graceful, sleek, and sexy - a design derived from the famous V-2 (we get to watch a V-2 launch as the film begins). This style of rocket became outdated (sadly) when the actual space program was underway and it was realized that wings on rockets were unnecessary.
Destination Moon helped inspire ordinary moviegoers to think seriously about space travel (by mid-decade popular magazines like Collier's would be imagining space vehicles and Disney produced a TV show on the subject). Robert Heinlein is to be congratulated for helping to deliver an excellent story, but even more so for his clear vision of the science and technology needed for actual moon landings. What other movie of this era is so faithful to science? The special effects look great - the depiction of weightlessness, the spacewalk, the gravity boots, the seat cushions compressing with g-forces, the performance of the rocket...I don't know how the special effects could have been better done in 1950.
Destination Moon articulated the awesome experience of venturing into space. From the awe of leaving the earth, to the wonder of walking on another world, the Destination Moon writers clearly saw the poetic and emotional impact of space travel. In the film, the astronauts reach the moon (and burn up most of their fuel looking to land, just like the Eagle did on the Apollo 11 mission) and two of them walk around and establish radio contact with earth. They attempt to communicate their feelings (what an amazing artist's conception of the lunar surface!). The things these guys say are eerily similar to statements made by the first men to actually walk on the moon. Almost 20 years after the movie, Americans left a plaque on the moon which read, "We came in peace for all mankind." It was one of America's finest moments.
Destination Moon helped 50s America prepare for that future moment.
The Black Scorpion (1957)
Under the Volcano
Alpha male Hank Scott (Richard Denning) is a geologist studying a large volcanic eruption in Mexico. Like most 'red blooded' scientist males of this era, he is suitably wolfish towards women. In this case though, he meets Teresa Alvarez (Mara Corday), who is no pushover. She can ride, shoot and run a ranch, and when she wants a man she gets him on her terms. I enjoy watching the interplay between these two.
Most of the other characters tend to just clutter up the screen - Hank's companion scientist has little to do but be a sidekick, and the 'great' Dr. Velazco is an awkward mid-movie addition. The little kid is cute, but cute little kids are so over-used in 50s movies. He gets annoying fast. Every time I watch the film I keep rooting for that underground spider...but it never quite catches up to the kid. In my dreams though, the outcome is very different. Bwaah hah hah hah.
One of the best things about watching 50s B movies is the science, or the absurd lack thereof. In this film, the scientists are very lax. In several situations Hank acts as if he could care less about geology (he is much more interested in Teresa). And how is it that two geologists explore a giant underground grotto and don't even consider that it might link up with nearby and well-known caverns? Later the two geologists learn about the proximity of the grotto to caverns under Mexico City and and are shown...a map! Duh. Why didn't they think of studying a map before now? Ah, those wacky geologists, always chasing after women and forgetting about basic scientific procedure. But the local scientists are hardly more dedicated or professional. Heck they down test tube shots of tequila in the lab during coffee breaks.
The monsters are the showpiece of the film and they do not disappoint. The creatures are awesome and the stop motion action makes them look really creepy. They move fast and attack swiftly. Very cool. I love the close ups of the drooling creature - how did they make it look fabulous and goofy and scary at the same time? The painted-in scorpion rampaging through the city is not at the same level of quality as the stop motion creatures, but it certainly does not ruin the movie for me. And how about that grotto sequence! By far the very best part of the movie, and as good as it gets in the 50s.
All in all, an excellent giant bug monster movie, one of the best. I think most people consider "Them!" to be the better movie, and they are surely correct. But personally, I think this movie is more fun.
The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)
The Axe! Use the Axe!
This is a fun, well-made movie. It breaks with a lot of 50s sci-fi traditions. It has a more tender and sophisticated romance than most monster movies of the time. Gail MacKenzie (Audrey Dalton) is a young widow who's husband died while serving in the military. Lt. Cmdr. John Twillinger (Tim Holt) plays the by-the-book base commander who falls in love with her. These are people with baggage, trying to heal past hurts.
In this film, the hero is not a super confident, hunky science guy. He is aging, gruff and no-nonsense military base commander. He does not do anything lame, or insanely heroic either. The base research scientist (Hans Conried) is an older, dedicated and competent scientist. The film is a straight contest between competent government officials and the secretive and savage mollusks. The bit players liven up the proceedings, as they are an interesting and fun group - the gate operator, telephone girl, museum director, two patrolmen, mother of victim, the morgue guy. The movie also features three cute kids, yet none of them are too obnoxious in their cuteness (like so many other movies of this time period).
It is hard to think of giant snails as terrifying monsters, but I guess by 1957 all the scary bugs were taken. On the plus side the monsters look cool and they regularly kill people. Of course, as in almost all 50s monster movies, we get to watch a little documentary film about the mollusk threat. Some of the creature attack scenes are surprising and creative. My favorite is the mother and daughter locked in a closet with the creature breaking down the door. It's intense.
Because the movie portrays competent characters it lacks some of the entertaining silliness seen in most 50s sci-fi. I liked that it was a bit slow (of course the monster is a giant snail, so the pace should be kinda slow). The looming danger in these movies usually is an entire town, but in this case, it never reaches that level, which works okay.
The title, "The Monster That Challenged The World," is the worst part of the film. It is way too overstated and creates high expectations that the creatures cannot possibly deliver. The movie should have been called, "The Monster That, Given Time and Access to Large Water Systems, Might Constitute a Threat to Populations Located Near the Breeding Areas."
The Giant Claw (1957)
"Get me my pants, will you, General?"
This is one terrifying movie. No, not the movie itself. What is terrifying is that once seen, the images burn into your brain, creating permanent scar tissue. Important memories, such as the births of your children, will fade in comparison to vivid images of this movie. It's like a song stuck in your head. It never leaves.
The creature is incredibly awful and so are the rest of the special effects. I can't think of a single effect that is even close to convincing. It takes years of dedication and training to create special effects this bad. It takes focus. Skill. Unwavering commitment. The effects folks reached for the the bottom of the barrel and they found it. I've seen so many of these old monster movies. I'm trying to remember a worse looking creature...nope. This is the one. The stupidest looking monster of all time.
Oh and the writing! The dialog is way, way, way beyond corny. Way, way beyond. Way beyond. Way. It seems like they tried for snappy, fast paced dialog, rapid-fire like a machine gun. The lines do indeed come fast and furious, but each spoken line is pathetic or embarrassing, in a perfectly brilliant sort of way. Compare the 'baseball' romantic banter with the 'racetrack' banter in the "The Big Sleep." Both bits of dialog aim for the same target, but what a difference! At least the writing is consistent. Nearly every bit of dialog in the movie effects the nerves like nails scraping across a chalkboard. I marvel at the level of achievement this represents.
What's to love about this movie? I love how our heroes have no hesitation to fly anywhere they need to go, even though the creature attacks all airplanes it sees. I love learning about the mysterious 'pattern' of the incidents. I love how no one in authority listens to any problems but they don't hesitate to attack the person reporting the problem. I love to watch our heroes shooting at giant eggs with telescopic rifles. I love the teenagers in the car scene. I love the double talk science, the anti-matter. I love how our heroes invent an amazing scientific weapon in one weekend, and gosh, the basic wiring was wrong! I love how mathematician Sally Caldwell (Mara Corday) brings sandwiches and coffee for the final showdown. I love how the General has a tender, fatherly, but weirdly too-familiar relationship with the main character, Mitch MacAffee (Jeff Morrow).
Yes, this movie is one of those rare gems that is so bad it actually has entertainment value. But you have been warned. It will haunt you forever.
Day the World Ended (1955)
How to Survive a Nuclear War
The Day the World Ended looks super cheap, but it is actually a watchable movie. It all begins with a nuclear holocaust. As poisonous radiation blankets the earth, only a few pockets are able to sustain normal life. The film is about one such pocket located somewhere in a mountainous desert probably in or near California.
A father and his daughter are hunkering down in their remote house, fully prepared to survive the nuclear winter. Five survivors straggle down from the nuclear fog-bound hills and make it to the house. There are seven people in the house, but only enough supplies for three (the father and daughter were expecting her fiancée to join them).
At this point, the movie becomes a great little character study. The small time hood and the hero, Rick (Richard Denning), compete for the affection of the daughter, Louise (Lori Nelson). An ex-stripper tries to hang onto her man while the father tries to keep everyone in line. The dying guy, surprisingly, does not die, but begins to have strange longings for the nuclear fog and strong cravings for raw meat. An old prospector and his mule round out the cast. The father can't get anyone on the radio, so these folks might be all alone in the world, trapped in a small house, surrounded by poisonous fog.
The sets are by far the worst part of the movie. The house looks like a Palm Springs vacation home rented out for the weekend. It just does not look like the father and daughter live here (for a guy who was planning to survive a nuclear war you'd think he would at least remember to trick out his house!). The decor is dull, which is bad because we spend most of the movie looking at it. Oh and the curtains! All the windows are curtained. The characters spend lots of time peering out of the curtains (but we never see what they are looking at), and they enter and leave through curtained doors too. It just looks really cheap.
If some of the scenes took place in another room, especially one with survival gear, the film might have been much more interesting. I felt like I needed to see what a 50s survival bunker (or storeroom) might have looked like. After all, it was not unheard of for people to have converted basements or backyard bunkers during this time period. Unfortunately the movie was too cheap to show something that really needed to be shown.
The most interesting plot dynamic involves Louise. She has been hoping for her fiancée to arrive at the house, but he does not. Her father urges her to forget about him (and marry Rick within the week and get busy repopulating the earth). But she is not ready. At odd times Louise hears a strange psychic piping noise that seems like a voice calling her (no one else hears it) and she feels she is being watched.
It's not too long before the household realizes there is a monster on the prowl outside. And the father and Rick start coming up with theories of humans and animals mutating into monsters due to radiation. I don't think the monster looks any worse than most cheap monster-suits of this genre. At least the monster is somewhat mysterious. The monster uses its psychic piping noise to lure Louise out of the house. Will she be taken by the monster into the poisonous fog? Will the monster let her go? Can Rick kill the monster and save the girl with an army surplus M-1 rifle? Whatever happened to the fiancée?
The theme of the movie is survival, but with an emphasis on letting go of the past, letting go of the dead, and finding love and reasons to live in the midst of catastrophe. The only survivors in the movie are those able to let go and embrace a new future as the poisonous nuclear fog dissipates.
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
"Going Into Unexplored Territory With a Woman"
The Creature of the Black Lagoon is a fabulous movie. The creature is one of the best looking monster-suits of its day and it still looks great; the music is good; the underwater scenes were probably mind-blowing back in the day and still are; the theme of science vs big game hunter is great; the camera work is superb; the ending is sad but we are not sure why...what a brilliant film!
Part of the fun is to watch for the wonderful monster movie genre conventions of the 50s as the film unfolds. One of these conventions is that someone remarks that the hero or heroine looks too young or attractive to be a scientist (watch for it twice in this film). Another convention is the respect and awe given to science and scientists, and the necessity of explaining and understanding any creature in scientific terms (usually combined with some really wacky notions). Probably the most fun convention is that the very top of the social pecking order is occupied by young, hunky, testosterone-intoxicated scientist men - the alpha males.
On the surface, the plot is about a scientific discovery of a creature living in a remote area of the amazon, and what to do about this discovery. The main subplot of the story, which ends up almost taking over the surface story, is about Kay choosing between two men. Both are alpha male scientists, but one (Mark) is wealthy and successful the other (David) is dedicated and scientific. Because there are subtle relationships between these three people and the creature, the film ventures into deeper waters (so to speak) than most simple monster films.
I like to think of Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams) as the main character of the movie. Yes I know that the guys get all the macho lines, do all the hero things, solve all the problems, while Kay may at first glance appear to do little but scream and faint and look pretty. But on closer examination Kay is shown to be independent, intelligent, adventurous and courageous. She is more fun, forward-looking, alive and human than either of the two alpha males. Kay dominates the camera shots too, which indicates the pivotal nature of her role. Note that in each scene, who Kay stands next to, and where she is placed in relation to the others is always important within the subtext of the story.
The two alpha males don't quite behave as most alpha males of the genre. Usually, the alpha male is unambiguous and aggressive (if not predatory) toward the female. Here however, we have one male bitter and obsessed while the other is oblivious and dedicated. The males are more interested in competing with each other than winning Kay (watch how often the two men are paired in shots, but listen to their dialog as well). In most movies of this genre, the woman is decisive in choosing a mate. Here, because the two males are inaccessible, Kay's choice is necessarily ambivalent, and great complications develop as a result. In the end, Kay ends up with one of the alpha males, but it seems to me she is left with a socially acceptable but emotionally unsatisfying partner. It feels like she deserved better.
Hollywood fell in love with Freudian psychoanalysis sometime around the 50s. This can be seen in many films where subconscious evils become physical monsters ("Forbidden Planet" is an example). This theme is used, if somewhat loosely, in the "Creature From the Black Lagoon." Once the adventurers enter the Black Lagoon area, the creature can be interpreted psychologically as Mark's monstrous shadow, or double. Mark is embittered by Kay's rejection of him, he is murderous enough to kill for her (watch for the first appearance of the spear gun), but instead he tries to kill the beast (his lust for her), but is himself killed and the beast triumphs (lust wins over rational ego), so the beast attains full freedom to seize the girl (Kay is abducted only after Mark is killed). The film shows us what happens when two alpha males fight for dominance and the woman does not, or cannot, fully connect with one of them.
Kay's hesitation to fully ditch Mark is what brings out the creature. At critical junctures Kay sympathizes with Mark, and the creature immediately appears. This is seen on the boat after the men return from their first dive - Kay expresses sympathy for Mark, but Dave is concerned that Mark might try to take her away from him (note how for David the focus is always on competition between he and Mark). After this scene, Kay goes for her famous swim and encounters the creature.
Then at night, after the creature is captured, Kay has a bizarre conversation (in which science attempts to arbitrate love!) with Dr. Thompson about the growing tension between Mark and Dave.
He says, "Once you admit the simple fact that you are in love, which you have, then it becomes good idea to be the scientist about it."
She replies, "It's not as easy as you think" and goes on to explain how she owes her success and her job to Mark. Right on cue, the creature breaks free and attacks. Again we have sympathy for Mark followed by an appearance of the creature.
There are more points to be made about this love triangle + creature, but they remain beyond the scope of this review. Next time you watch "Creature From the Black Lagoon," try seeing it from the perspective of Kay as the main character, and the creature as the dark side of Mark's passion. You might be rewarded with fresh insights, and an enriched enjoyment of an old favorite.
It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
Twilight of the Early Space Sci-Fi Movies
It! the Terror from Beyond Space was released in 1958. It is one of the last of the early sci-fi rocket movies. Just remember to let go of 21st century sensibilities and notions of reality before watching any of the sci-fi films from this time period. They are like fragile relics from the ancient past and often fall apart if handled roughly.
The movie opens up with an impressive night panorama of a Martian landscape, with a lonely black sky filled with stars. A rocketship (in the classic cigar shaped, V-2 inspired style) lies broken on its side. A twin second ship, the rescue ship, stands nearby. A voice-over sets the drama. Great beginning! Unfortunately, the quality of the miniatures and space flight ends here. The rocket ship is cool looking, with graceful fins tapering to stalky points, but the few shots of the ship speeding through space are cheap looking.
Most the action stays within the ship, in the multi-leveled and very cool interior (complete with a cabinet stocked full with cartons of cigarettes!). The commander of the broken ship, Col. Carruthers, is the sole survivor, and he is being taken back to earth for a court martial. The commander of the rescue ship, Col. Van Heusen, believes that Carruthers killed the other crew members to hoard rations for himself, and does not believe a monster killed off the first expedition.
A major subplot of the movie revolves around the two alpha males as they struggle for dominance and authority. At stake is who will be in charge, who has the right to command. To the victor goes the spoils, in this case an attractive and single female scientist on board the ship. The loser of this battle for command and breeding rights will perish. I get a huge kick watching the glorious mating rituals in 50s sci-fi and monster movies - they sure are fun!
Another fun thing about 50s rocketship movies is they are firmly rooted, not in the far away future, but in the the world of tomorrow. Everything in the movie is part of the 50s culture and technology, just as if it were happening in the immediate future. For example, there are no exotic 'futuristic' weapons like ray guns or phasers or such. Heck, who needs 'em? Every space expedition is fully equipped with plenty of army surplus stuff like .45 pistols, M-1 carbines, hand grenades, gas bombs, blow torches and bazookas. And if none of that works? There could be real trouble.
Early on in the film, we are shown that a monster indeed has crept undiscovered into the rescue ship. The rocket then blasts off into space and the crew is trapped in the ship with a rampaging monster and none of the army surplus weapons can kill it. There is a dreadful relentlessness to the creature as it proceeds level by level up to the control center of the ship. Nothing stops it, not even the uber-weapon of all 50s movies, nuclear radiation. And the crew is pretty clever about using the equipment at hand, sometimes in creative ways, including a spacewalk to outflank the monster. Never mind that their spaceship should have exploded into a billion pieces with all the firepower they let loose inside it (firing an armor piercing bazooka shell inside a pressurized hull was the last straw for me), the point is no weapons known to man could take out the monster. The crew are left with nothing but their own wits and the beast is pounding away at the final flimsy hatch door!
Project Moon Base (1953)
Project Moon-Mate
Project Moon Base was made in 1953. Science Fiction movies had come a long way in the 3 years since Destination Moon and Rocketship X-M. Here we are given a glimpse of the future, projected to 1970, and it is a future with the US fully embracing space exploration. The look of the rockets and the overall plan for space exploration presented in the movie seems to be very closely based on the Collier's magazine series on space travel which ran from '52-'54. So this movie would have been very current when it first came out. I have to say, it is a wonderful vision of space exploration. The rocketships, spaceport, space station and moon lander are well done miniatures and the star backgrounds and lunar landscape are also well done.
Robert Heinlein is credited with co-writing the screenplay, which tells a sophisticated story of (presumably Soviet) attempts to infiltrate an agent into the US space station and destroy it before a moon base is constructed. This is the surface story of the film, which is handled well in terms of how the space program works and how an agent might try to infiltrate it, but wow does it play out poorly. The scenes with the agent in the ship are really cheezy and amateurish. One of the clues that the impostor scientist is really an agent is that he does not know of the Brooklyn Dodgers - an old WWII trick for trapping enemy agents, but it seems silly here. The sabotage plans are foiled by our heroes (in an embarrassingly bad action scene) but the moon lander is stranded on the lunar surface without enough fuel to blast off.
So far so good. But the real story lies beneath all this. It is a story of sex and gender politics in the workplace. And this subtheme is dialed way up! It takes over the movie. In the 1950s women began entering the workplace as equals with men, for the first time ever. Oh they had been allowed descent jobs as secretaries (complete with other implications), and during WWII many women took over men's jobs as the men went off to war, but now it is post war...can educated women work alongside men? Can they supervise men? Will men be threatened by this? Many of the sci-fi movies of the '50s explore this theme, but I have not seen one that could surpass the intensity of this movie. It is out of control and really must be seen to be believed.
Col. Briteis (Donna Martell) is the commander of the spaceship. To say she has a rough time in the world of men is an understatement. When we first meet Col, a general tells her she was chosen for this mission for political reasons, not for competence, then he threatens to spank her! Wow. Bear in mind this is the beginning of the movie. Of course all the men pronounce her name 'Bright-Eyes' and oh boy there are plenty of winks and nods. Throughout the movie men are constantly correcting her, laughing at her and patronizing her. For the time period of the film, this is probably all in good fun, but from a 21st century vantage point it is hard to watch and is much more uncomfortable than funny. Bright Eyes...er I mean Col. Briteis...dominates the film, and this is a good thing because she is very sexy. She gets my all-time award for a performance during a blast off. Most everyone else in this obligatory scene looks as if the crushing force of gravity is torture, but with her it looks like...ecstasy.
To continue the gender politics theme we have a female US President, and an assertive woman reporter. But ultimately the menfolk need not worry. At the end of the movie the alpha male co-pilot is promoted over Briteis, so male authority is re-established in the nick of time. And he marries her while they are stranded on the moon, so '50s family sensibilities are fully protected.
I wish that Coronel Briteis was given a role in which she was depicted as competent instead of petulant. That would have made this movie brilliant and way, way ahead of its time. As it is the movie can be awkward to watch. But if Project Moonbase has any claim to fame, it has Donna Martell, the sexiest rocket girl of the '50s.
Rocketship X-M (1950)
Rx-M (Prescription for Mankind)
In the early 50s, the idea of rockets carrying mankind into space began to look attainable and practical. Space was not just for fantasy anymore. Some of the best movies to first explore and pioneer the science fiction of space travel were classics like Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, and of course Rocketship X-M.
Genre conventions quickly emerged, which today are enjoyable to watch for as the movie plays. Overarching elements like benevolent governments (or UN), committees, scientists and industrialists are integral to the venture. Experts hold conferences, and if you are really lucky, they will show off a blueprint of the rocketship. The rocketship will usually be a cigar-shaped variant of a German V-2, and will almost always be silver in color. There will also be some semi-solid science mixed in with some really loopy notions about space travel.
The crew of the rocketship is usually a blend of scientists, military types, hot-shot alpha males (one or two), and for reasons that probably only made sense in the 50s, a 'regular Joe' kind of character for comic relief (but oh boy is it painful to watch now). Usually an attractive and single woman scientist is present, but no matter what credentials she carries she will be patronized or upstaged by a male at some point, and almost always she will serve coffee to the men (with a smile). Oh yeah, and in the end, one of the alpha males will want to marry her.
Other conventions to watch for include the blast-off and its effects on the crew, a few odds and ends become weightless (much to the surprise and delight of the crew), a meteor shower will threaten the ship, and often there will be a space walk along the hull of the ship (with the camera rotated 90 degrees of course).
If you enjoy watching for the above elements, congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of science fiction movies, circa 1950s. I love this stuff.
In Rocketship X-M the rocket is based on a 1949 Life magazine moonship design. We get to see the blueprint of the rocket, we learn that it is two stage (as was Life's proposed rocket). Look for bits of V-2 footage on the takeoff and landing of the rocket, but otherwise the special effects look okay. In this movie, great attention is paid to the fuel mixture (from several types of fuel carried on board) and calculations involving that mixture. We learn that these calculations require several hours, and are done by pencil and paper! At one point the crew has to physically alter fuel connections in the fuel bay, which is kind of a cool scene.
Rocketship X-M is clearly a classic. As such, it contains many of the genre elements. But in all honesty, the movie drags somewhat because it tries to be so serious and as a 21st century audience member, you just about fall off your chair at the really bizarre and messed up notions of science. But hang in there, it has a great story. The rocket is attempting a flight to the moon, but it goes off course and ends up at Mars (OMG). The crew explores Mars all decked out in obsolete Army surplus gear from WWII (including gas masks), they make an important discovery (Mars looks very cool with the red tone), and attempt to head back to earth to tell the world the crucial lessons they learned to benefit mankind. But do they have enough fuel to get back? Will Lloyd Bridges break down the scientist woman's icy professionalism and get her to fall in love with him?
One Million Years B.C. (1966)
Stone Age Wonder
Those looking for films that deal realistically with prehistory need to look elsewhere. One Million Years BC is a fantasy movie. The creators of this film borrowed creatures and cultural elements willy-nilly from any epoch in earth's history that served their purpose, made up a few of their own elements, tossed them into a cooking pot, stirred, simmered and added seasoning. The final result is an impressive dish. In my opinion, it is the best caveman film ever made.
The stark, hostile landscape, the sweeping and lonely vistas, the haunting music punctuated with tribal rattle sounds, combine to create an amazing prehistoric setting. This is a dark and violent setting. Mankind is portrayed as struggling to survive in a world of bloody fangs and destructive elemental powers. You feel this savage primeval world come alive as you watch the movie. Can humanity emerge from such a savage and hostile world? Two cultures are presented, a cave dwelling, dark-haired, violent and bloodthirsty Rock Tribe, and the more settled, blond-haired, and sophisticated Shell Tribe. Both cultures are flawed and seem to be slowly dying out. Two characters, Tumac from the Rock Tribe, and Luana from the Shell Tribe come together in a romance so powerful it will catalyze the transformation of both cultures. A simple series of grunts and monosyllabic sounds are the only dialog in the movie. Both of the tribes are well presented, and offer interesting contrasts in terms of how they solve problems, and how they live in the world.
The dinosaurs are fabulous. Not only in how they look, but in what they do. Several scenes stand out as exceptional uses of monsters in storytelling. The attack on Shell village by the young allosaurus is vivid, terrifying and powerful. Tumac fights the allosaurus and affirms his humanity by saving a young child. The pteronodon swooping down on the lakeshore and carrying off Luana (seemingly to feed her to its young) is a cruel and haunting scene. The battle between ceratosaurus and triceratops is a brilliantly choreographed dinosaur fight...I could go on and on.
The movie is unrelenting in presenting us with a brutal and uncompromising primordial world. The warthog hunt, the goat hunt, the cat-fight, the men-apes, Tumac learning to laugh - these scenes show us plenty of raw, untamed emotions, and they serve to deepen and embellish both character and setting. And what savage characters! Rachel Welch is a movie poster icon because of this movie. Sure she looks great, but along the way she convincingly portrays a strong and courageous cavewoman. And John Richardson is excellent as Tumac - brutal, smart, adaptable, and a true hero because he fights for what is human even as he discovers what being human is all about. The secondary characters are all excellent and convincing.
From start to finish, this movie delivers. A movie like One Million Years BC may not appeal to everyone. But it is the pinnacle of fabulous Stone Age drama. It rocks!
Creatures the World Forgot (1971)
Antelopes the World Forgot
"Creatures the World Forgot" is the third and final entry in the Hammer caveman films. It differs from "One Million Years BC" and "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" in that it is an attempt at realism. There are no dinosaurs in this movie. The setting is firmly grounded in North Africa. Some of the opening shots show rock paintings which appear to be from the Tassili area, circa 4,500 BC.
An attempt to portray a functioning caveman culture is presented. Gone are the bikinis and beach girls of the other two movies...well, almost. For the most part, the costumes seem fairly realistic. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of pretty women to look at, and their costumes seem to fall away frequently. Gone also is the made up language of 'akeeta' and 'necro.' In this movie, its all about grunts and gestures, which work quite well.
Instead of dinosaurs, indigenous North African animals are present. We see oryx, wildebeest, warthog, brown hyena, crested porcupine, ostrich egg canteens, a couple of snakes and a scorpion. At first it might seem strange that no big cats or other top predators are included in the assortment. I think it's because the antelopes have killed off all the lions and leopards. Hey, this is one tough bunch of antelopes! They lurk deep in the brush and charge out at frightening speed to stab and gore and kill. They are truly vicious creatures. And is it just me, or was an oryx actually killed and skinned for the movie?
The plot is unnecessarily convoluted. Two tribes (dark hair and blond hair) meet and exchange brides. The woman from the blond tribe gives birth to twin boys (one blond, one dark). These two brothers hate each other and are constant rivals throughout the movie. At the same time, lightning strikes a tree and a woman gives birth to a girl. The tribe wants to kill this bit of bad luck, but the shaman woman takes her for her own. There is an interesting sub plot as this young girl grows up with a crush on the blond-guy, gets rejected, and finally accepts her destiny as the next shaman of the tribe. It is one of the coolest stories in this movie. After too many plot convolutions, the brothers end up fighting to the death over the blond-guy's leopard skin bikini mate in a scene involving a large snake and cliffs. The young shaman girl decides the outcome...
This movie has a more compelling story compared to "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth," with less emphasis on bikini beach culture and more emphasis on caveman survival culture. As of this date, it is not available on DVD, which is a shame. I like this movie a lot and would buy it on DVD faster than you can say - "killer antelope!"
La guerre du feu (1981)
The Most Realistic Caveman Movie
It is a rare movie that aims for realism and actually hits the mark. "Quest for Fire" is one of those movies. My dictionary defines realism in part as, "...accurate representation without idealization." Thus, a movie such as "One Million Years BC" is not realistic, nor does it pretend to be, it is pure fantasy. Even "Creatures the World Forgot", the most realistic of the Hammer caveman movies, takes pains to present us with idealized men and women in skimpy outfits. "Quest for Fire" is realistic, not because every little historical fact has been detailed, but because it makes a serious effort at appearing historically accurate, without sacrificing or compromising dramatic story elements.
Most movies that aim for realism fall flat in terms of drama. They end up like a documentary. Compare Quest with "Clan of the Cave Bear" - Clan falls flat in drama because the action seen on screen and its consequences are narrated and translated for us. We are removed from the action, distanced. We become mere spectators. Not so with "Quest for Fire". Quest presents us with an engaging dramatic story which unfolds as the movie progresses.
The brilliance of the story in Quest is that it is shifted away from a personal story. The focus is not on one main character growing to adulthood, testing or proving themselves; it is not about who gets the girl, or how a rivalry plays out. The central character of this story is not a person. The central character is fire - and the story is all about getting fire, holding onto fire, defending the possession of fire. From the opening shot (and what a great shot) to the closing shot (ditto), the focus is fully on fire. As we follow one humanoid group and their war for fire we watch how four groups of humanoids in various stages of evolution utilize and master the most precious element in this setting - fire.
What makes the film really good is that you feel immersed in the world that has been presented. The setting is cold and lonely, the landscape vast and unforgiving. Pleistocene creatures are represented with wolves, mammoths, saber-toothed lions, antelope, and cave bears. The details of human gesture, expression and rudimentary language have a sense of rightness, they seem authentic. The various humanoids are shown with what appear to be authentic cultural traits.
Is this movie historically accurate? No it is not. But the substance of this imagined world of 80,000 years ago is so convincing, you feel like you are actually there. No other caveman movie has been able to achieve an authentic sense of realism combined with an excellent story.
Nabonga (1944)
The House with Wings
For such a short movie, you get plenty of wild animals to look at. In Hollywood's version of deepest, darkest Africa, you get the usual lions, zebras, hyenas, chimpanzees, hippos and leopards - but why limit the animals to only one continent? For the perfect jungle cocktail, stir in South American monkeys, Indian elephants, American alligators, Australian cockatoos...and cap it off with a guy in a gorilla suit. Serve with Buster Crabe and Julie London for a really fun time.
The story is about stolen jewels that are lost in a plane crash somewhere in the jungle. The daughter of the thief, Doreen (Julie London) lives a life of seclusion and innocence in the jungle with the jewels, protected by her gorilla friend, Sampson. The natives whisper of a white witch. Ray Gorman (Buster Crabbe) has journeyed to Africa to find the jewels and clear his father's name from the charges that he allowed the jewels to be stolen. A couple of seedy trading post scoundrels get wind of Gorman's goal and they follow along behind him, determined to get the jewels for themselves.
Gorman befriends one of the local natives, Tobo, who offers to lead Gorman to the remains of the 'house with wings' that he keeps trying to tell people about. At first, Tobo seems to know his way around the jungle. But after Gorman does the obligatory fight the fake crocodile in the river with his shirt off scene, Tobo has no future and is promptly killed by the guy in the gorilla suit.
The rest of the movie involves the resolution of the Beauty and the Beast story. The gorilla, Sampson, jealously protects Doreen's innocence and has kept her out of contact with other humans. Doreen calls off Sampson just as he is about to kill Gorman, thus opening the door to human interaction. Buster Crabbe and Julie London together on screen are very entertaining. Buster plays it all goofy and good natured, while Julie is naive, direct and flirtatious.
Gorman's decision to trap Sampson and take the jewels against Doreen's will is a bit unsettling. It seems unfair, like stealing from a infant. The movie does not linger on any moral issue regarding the act, which is interesting. The action is treated like a given - the concerns of western civilization apparently trump everything else. What is chilling is that this attitude is exactly how western civilizations treated Africa for over two hundred years.
Doreen decides she really likes Gorman. That pretty much dooms Sampson. The Beauty and the Beast relationship ends with his heroic death, defending her to the last. That means Gorman can now take Doreen out of the jungle and back to civilization. A happy ending...?
This is an entertaining little low budget movie. It is thought provoking too, but I doubt if that was the original intent.
King Kong (2005)
King Kong in the Mist
Like many people, I went into the theater to watch the remake of King Kong with great expectations, and walked out disappointed and frustrated. There are two elements of the film that are consistently poor - gratuitous and unconvincing CG monsters, and unrealistic character portrayal and development.
CG use in film is clearly in an infancy, if not infantile, stage. CG was supposed to give us realism that would deeply enrich the movie experience. However, the employment of CG in a movie typically ends up out of control, bearing little relationship to the dramatic stakes present within the scene. CG creatures not only must look real, they must act real (or at least real-ish within the context of the overall movie setting). By the time many of the CG scenes in this movie are over, I'm exhausted and bored.
There are too many examples to examine fully, but take a look at the T-rex battle. Clearly, this is just another video game example of action for the sake of action. Of course, all of the monsters in the battle move impossibly fast, and save or miss Ann by impossibly small margins throughout the entire impossible scene.
Compare the stakes involved in this scene to the original in the 1933 King Kong. There, the T-rex spots Ann in a tree, and ambles over to grab an easy snack. King Kong arrives. The two lords of the jungle square off and fight to the death in a this-island-ain't-big-enough-for-both-of-us show down. Note that Ann is a spectator because the scene is not about her. It is a powerful and compelling scene which shows the audience exactly who is the lord of the island. The motivation for the T-rexes in the 2005 version is merely to snack on Ann, and they are willing to do anything, including leaping to their deaths, just to eat this little tiny snack. Nonsense! The dramatic stakes have become a farce. This is just one example. Don't get me started on the dinosaur stampede scene.
The worst flaws in the movie are in the handling of the characters. Every character in the story is mishandled. There are way too many secondary characters, each with lovingly crafted backstories and destinies that keep intruding into the main story. Look, the story requires a bunch of tough seamen types to get killed by monsters every now and then while trying to rescue Ann. Who cares what these guys dream of the future, where they once broke an arm, or what they read. And using the book 'Heart of Darkness' as a symbol in this movie? Please. Way off base.
The worst of the secondary characters is the action-movie star. Okay, for an hour of movie time I'm shown how he is a pampered, spoiled guy who gets by on nothing but looks. So far, so good. Now I can't wait to see how this pretend action hero fares when the real thing comes along! Suddenly, he morphs into Tarzan/Rambo and saves the day. No. He should be eaten alive by a large dinosaur. We need to see that the pretense of an action hero does not cut it on Skull Island.
In contrast to the pretend action hero, the movie needs to show us a real one. Instead, we get an arrogant yet nerdy city-boy playwright who turns into Jungle Jim the moment he steps off the boat. Huh? How does he do that? In the 1933 King Kong, the hero is the tough first mate of a seedy tramp steamer. Obviously, the guy has been around plenty of bad situations. It is believable that he has what it takes to rescue Ann from the clutches of a massive ape.
What about the main feature of the story - the relationship between Kong and Ann? This movie can't seem to decide if it is a Gorillas in the Mist story or a Beauty and the Beast story. Gorillas in the Mist shows how humans can empathize and connect with other animals with full acknowledgment of their mutual rights to exist. Beauty and the Beast is about dark, primal, and dangerous sexuality, mostly repressed or hidden. I'm assuming the intent of King Kong (2005) was to write a Beauty and the Beast story (the last line of the movie clinches it). However, this intent was diluted and watered down to a point where the story loses all power.
If (in a Beauty and the Beast story) there is a relationship between Ann and Kong, then the relationship between Ann and Dricoll needs to be compromised forever. They can't reconnect at the end. The entire story is undermined when Ann and Driscoll lovingly embrace on top of the Empire State Building. Of the three installments of King Kong ('33, '76, '05), Naomi Watts is the least effective Ann character. It's not that she is any less pretty than the other two actresses. It is just that the female lead role requires a daring, primal sexuality. Instead we get Watts and Kong holding hands and staring at sunsets. Fay Wray has taken some heat for her incessant screaming, but at least that is a primal, fitting response. I got real tired of watching shot after shot of Naomi Watts pivoting around slowly, all dewy eyed and vulnerable. This type of character might work in a Gorillas in the Mist story. But if that is the story in this movie then the final line cannot be, "...it was Beauty killed the Beast."
'King Kong' frustrates me because there are too many mistaken efforts for a film (and a remake at that) with such a high budget and high expectations. The movie could have been great, and in fact there are many interesting and enjoyable elements. But poor writing of CG creatures and human characters destroys the credibility of this version of King Kong.
King Kong (1933)
The Once and Future King
This is simply the best 'Lost World' type movie ever made. Numerous lost world films have been made since King Kong was released in 1933. Few have come close to the bar set by Kong. None have surpassed it. Neither of the two remakes of Kong have measured up, as both movies are seriously flawed. What sets this movie apart is that it combines a lost world adventure with a Beauty and the Beast theme. Both aspects are brilliantly realized.
The interesting question in this movie is what do our hearty explorers do when they come in contact with a primeval world? They try to take something sensational back to civilization, of course! But at the same time, in a brilliant twist of storytelling, something primeval (Kong) tries to take something civilized (Ann) back into the primeval world.
Beauty and the Beast is a powerful fairy tale, surfacing in France a few centuries ago. But the roots of the story are deep indeed, stretching all the way back to the dawn of civilization. As part of the Sumerian Gilgamesh cycle, the priestess/harlot Shamhat seduces the wild man, Enkidu, and thereby tames him and integrates him into civilization. A Beauty and the Beast story reaches deep down to tap into this expression of primordial female sexual power.
Fay Wray is perfectly cast as Ann Darrow. She combines playful innocence with smokin' hot sexiness. Her screams made her famous, and they perfectly express her raw terror of the dark primeval world. Kong is an amazing creation, especially considering the state of the art of special effects back in the day. His facial expressions and body movements portray what he is thinking and feeling. His lust for Ann Darrow is unambiguous and terrifying.
The other characters are good too. Robert Armstrong is great fun as Carl Denham, the obsessed and eccentric filmmaker. The tough guy sailor, Driscoll, played by Bruce Cabot, is a little bit dull but believable. The sets are great. The dark island, the dark jungle are truly foreboding. The stop motion dinosaurs not only look good, but interact meaningfully within the context of the adventure. No ultra hyper, too quick, impossible video game CG effects here. The creatures move with a sense of power and menace.
The scenes in New York are wonderful, dark, violent and frightening. Of course, the airplanes shooting at Kong while he is at the top of the Empire State Building is one of the all-time great moments in movie history. When Kong dies, it is a sad and tragic end, but a fitting one. The dialog at the end is brilliant, insightful, and powerful.
Leutenant: "Well Denham, it looks like the airplanes got him."
Denham: "Oh No, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast."
Great stuff. Great movie. I need to watch it again, for the umpteenth time, right now.
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
The Best Sword and Sorcery Film
Robert E Howard is often credited with inventing the sword and sorcery genre with the introduction of one of the all-time great fantasy characters, Conan the Barbarian. This was way back in the early 1930s. Writer Karl Wagner describes sword and sorcery as, "...a fascinating synthesis of horror, adventure, and imagination...the common motif is a universe in which magic works and an individual may kill according to his personal code." The atmosphere of sword and sorcery is charged with violence, darkness, sexuality, and supernatural perils. The themes of the stories often reach deep into the abyss of cosmic horror and dread. It takes quite a hero to stride undaunted and undeterred across this landscape!
In the early 1980s Conan got his first film. It launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's career. It was a brilliant film, flawed, but it soared above its flaws. It has been often imitated since then, yet most of those efforts failed miserably.
Why do imitation films fail in this genre? Because they focus on the half-naked babes, the half-naked muscle bound (and often angry) hero, the violent fights, the wizards with special effects at their fingertips, as if this were enough. But they fail to capture the fundamental and necessary element of the genre - a subtle atmosphere of the supernatural and the uncanny. There must be a credible, ever-present but not over-done supernatural theme pervading the setting. The darkness, the pathos, the sense of horror necessary for the genre entered for a few moments of the film. The witch, the wizard, the evil priest of the snake cult, the cultist's suicide, the scene where the spirits are trying to steal Conan's soul, the occasional banter about the gods, the orgy...all of these elements capture the proper atmosphere. The sorcery is not overblown, nor is it all about special effects. Few S&S movies get this right. Conan the Barbarian shows how it is done.
There are a few issues with the movie that will bother Conan purists. For me, the worst is Conan's childhood (a subject never touched upon in the books, and I hate it when writers murder the parents to provide motivation for a character). But all in all, I imagine Robert Howard would be happy with this Conan. A few of the scenes were right out of his stories - the crucifixion tree, the ghostly help from a dead girlfriend, gigantic snakes, thieves climbing a mysterious tower. Sadly missing are the monstrous man-apes, or unnatural creatures summoned out of the abyss by sorcerers, both of which feature prominently in Conan stories.
The music is awesome, James Earl Jones and Sandahl Bergman are fabulous. And of course Arnold is perfect. I keep hoping for another great Sword and Sorcery movie. Its been 25+ years, and there are no contenders.
At the Earth's Core (1976)
Pellucidar Comes Alive!
One of my favorite lost world settings is Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar. It is a primordial world existing on the underside of the earth's crust, with the central core of magma providing a perpetual noonday sun. The land is full of ancient mammals, dinosaurs and beautiful cave girls. The story begins with a eccentric inventor and his friend who plan to explore the earth's crust in an 'iron mole.' They go off course and plunge toward the center of the earth, finally surfacing in Pellucidar. They discover a world in which telepathic flying reptiles dominate, and human cave tribes are either on the run or enslaved. What do our plucky explorers do upon encountering this primeval world? They attempt to liberate the humans and civilize them!
There are a lot of cheesy 'Lost World' type movies. At the Earth's Core is certainly one of the cheesiest. I would never argue with those believe that this is a bad movie, but I love it.
The setting has a wonderful inner world feel with weird plants and a pale red sky. The caverns and tunnels are well developed. The iron mole looks very cool. The cave people and Sagoth costumes are adequate and cheesy in a fun '70s way. How about the dinosaurs and creatures? Hmm. The monsters in this movie are the lamest monsters to ever grace the silver screen. They set a standard for lameness that will probably never be surpassed. But as lame-o as the monsters are, they are a fun and active group. Several of them seem to have a propensity for exploding at the moment of death. That's always fun, isn't it? The Mahar telepathic powers are clearly presented with the eyes lighting up, the zzzzzz-zrt! sound, the eyelids closing. 'Cmon, admit it, it's a cool effect. And the way the Mahars swoop down upon the sacrificial cave girls, this scene actually provides a moment of horror, in spite of the lame Mahar costumes.
Doug McClure, Peter Cushing and Caroline Monroe are perfectly cast in the roles of David Innes, Abner Perry and Dian the Beautiful. I can no longer read the books without picturing these actors in the story. I could have watched many Pellucidar sequels with these actors. McClure is the perfect actor for any cheesy lost world adventure. Nobody - and I mean nobody - fights lame-o monsters like Doug McClure. The guy is brilliant. Check out the arena scene, where he faces off against a lame saber-toothed hippo thing. McClure swings, he grits, he staggers and strains. I love how he jukes the monster off balance to retrieve the spear head from underneath it. Yeah! What other actor would have put so much into that scene? Peter Cushing is certainly a far better actor than this movie deserves, and yet he gives a surprising and outrageous performance. Don't critique him too much for hamming it up, some of his lines are right out of the book, and the character calls for a goofball. Caroline Monroe looks like she just stepped out of a Frank Frazetta painting. Too bad her role is limited to being a mere one-dimensional love interest.
Sure, it is a cheesy movie. But if you can suspend disbelief and stay with this movie, you just might like it. No question, it is a challenge to hang in there, neither mocking the movie nor beating your head against the wall. If you can get in, and stay in, this is an amazing lost world movie. But you have to fight the cheesiness, you have to fight the lameness. You have to fight like Doug McClure!
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)
A Misfire, But Still Enjoyable
"Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" is not as good as the other two Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movies. There are too many instances where events could play out really cool, yet they invariably fizzle. Given that this is the third installment of Sinbad by the same creative team, I expected more. The plot seems to wear out halfway through the movie, and important scenes are poorly executed. But can any movie featuring Ray Harryhausen's creatures and sexy Jane Seymour ever be truly bad? Of course not! I'm just frustrated that this movie missed being great, because it easily could have been.
The storyline of the movie is acceptable, and some of it is directly lifted from an 1001 Nights story, which is a plus. A prince is cursed into baboon shape by a witch so a challenger for the throne (the witch's son) can take over the kingdom. The shapeshift will become permanent after a while. The sister of the prince hires Sinbad to sail to a foreign land to find a wizard to break the curse. The witch and her son pursue Sinbad to prevent the reversal of the shapeshift. At the end of the movie, the competitors end up at the north pole in the temple of a lost civilization, the last hope to cure the prince.
Much of the plot follows standard elements found in the three Harryhausen Sinbad movies such as a race to a lost land and a shapeshifted/disfigured royal person. But that is okay. What does not work is that there are too many characters just tagging along with little to do. Sinbad is one of the characters left hanging, which is not a good sign for a movie with Sinbad in the title. Once Sinbad states (early in the film) that he cannot remove the curse but he knows someone who can, Sinbad exits center stage and the wizard becomes the driver of the plot. Jane Seymore visually dominates any scene she is in with her sexy princess outfit, but does little else. The witch's son and the wizards daughter must have some dramatic story potential, I'll figure out what it is some day, maybe.
Basically, the heart and soul of the movie comes down to a duel between the wizard and the witch, as both ships race for the north pole. The witch (Margaret Whiting) is outrageous and bizarre, and has plenty of stop-motion creature sorcery at her disposal. The wizard (Patrick Troughton) has obscure knowledge and is wonderfully nutty. But this duel is hardly a battle of wits. Their antics actually make the movie kind of funny, not necessarily on purpose, but since they are the main focus for drama the whole tone of movie feels uncertain. The writers do not seem to grasp the central importance of these two characters, and the plot devolves into random encounters and padded scenes. It would have been great to have an ongoing duel of sorcery (and dynamation creatures) throughout the race to the pole, but this opportunity was missed.
As always, the dynamation monsters are entertaining, but perhaps not as effectively presented in the dramatic parts of the story as they could have been. The minotaur is totally cool, but almost pointless; the walrus is totally pointless; the skeletons are okay but without any sense of why the witch could summon them (and then only once); the troglodyte looks great but is almost pointless; and the saber-toothed tiger and troglodyte fight (two dynamation creatures fighting at the climax is another staple feature in these Sinbad movies) is an awkward disappointment. The baboon is by far the best creature in the film. Harryhausen always manages to evoke personality from his creations, and the baboon-prince is one of his very best in terms of expression, emotion and presence. However, too much screen time is spent with this creature and the baboon ultimately adds drag to the film.
In spite of my frustrations with the film, I've watched it several times and will undoubtedly watch it several more. There is something charming about a Ray Harryhausen movie, even one that misses the mark.
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
The Masterpiece Sinbad Movie
Of the three Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movies, this is my personal favorite. The Arabian Nights setting is dialed in, Sinbad and his crew look like they actually belong on a shady adventure ship, the ship looks accurate for the period, the evil sorcerer and his powers of darkness are perfectly and sensibly integrated into the movie, the little bits of humor work, and Caroline Monroe is out of control sexy. Oh and the stop motion monsters are in top form, not only do they look good, but they fit in perfectly with the story.
The actors are all believable and interesting. Sinbad, played by John Phillip Law is the best Sinbad of the three movies. He plays an active, smart Sinbad who handles danger and moral situations in true heroic fashion. The other characters support the story and add to the depth of the movie.
I think the most important element in a Sinbad movie is a credible supernatural threat. This movie features one of the best evil wizards in all of fantasy. Tom Baker plays Koura the magician, and he gives an impressive performance. But sorcery in this picture is not just for show, there is an underlying structure to it that makes sense. Koura pays a price for aid from the powers of darkness - every time he uses sorcery, he ages. This is a brilliant way to show Koura slowly slipping into the clutches of dark powers. The monsters he summons or commands come alive with the magic of Dynamation and every monster makes sense for the setting and story and has a dramatic impact on the story. And the wicked little pet homunculus - I want one!
The story moves along briskly. Sinbad and the Sultan race Koura across the seas to a lost island where they hope to solve the riddle of the 3 golden pieces and thereby restore the kingdom. Compare this ship race with "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" - the "Golden Voyage" has so much more tension, it moves much quicker, the stakes seem higher. The scenes on the lost island are varied and interesting. There is lots for everyone to do, and all if it is important. The final battle between creatures representing good and evil is really cool. The mystical powers of the Fountain of Destiny make sense and provide a fitting and dramatic end to the movie.
This is one of my all-time favorite fantasy films.
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
A World Past Hope and Tears
I highly recommend the The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. Of the three Ray Harryhausen Sinbads this probably has the most richly realized setting, with wonderful costumes and a solid musical score. I rate this one a close second to the Golden Voyage of Sinbad, only because the dated '50s suburban family ideals are a bit of a distraction.
Otherwise, this movie is absolutely top notch. A magician on a remote island loses his magic lamp to a rampaging cyclops. The magician tries to hire Sinbad to rescue the lamp. Sinbad refuses because he is getting ready to marry the princess (those '50s suburban family values are locked in from start to finish). The magician shrinks the princess to barbie doll size, and the cure requires odd ingredients found only on the magician's island. So Sinbad is compelled to sail to the island.
Sokura the magician (Torin Thatcher) is one classic evil wizard! Outwardly compliant, he is ruthless and cunning. He has plenty of potions and green smoke at his disposal and employs all sorts of schemes to manipulate others. His 'magic show' for the sultan is as disturbing as it is entertaining. A perfect scene. Sokura also has a a very cool cave hideout on the island, guarded by an awesome-looking stop motion dragon. Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) is portrayed as an ideal '50s hero - no nonsense, all about duty. It's a bit of a disconnect for me, because I'm expecting Sinbad to be a rogue, not a prince. But Sinbad does a credible job of trying to outwit Sokura and his action scenes are exciting. He makes a good ship captain too. Parisa (Katheryn Grant) is the beautiful, perky, and irrepressible princess. I think if I were shrunk down to a foot tall and forced to hide out in a little box, I'd be kinda bummed. Not her! She just turns on the charm and prances about as flirtatious and sassy as she can be.
The stop motion creature scenes are excellent, Harryhausen is in top form here. The cyclops, dragon, roc and skeleton look great and are credible threats. The battles and encounters with these monsters are compelling. They don't take over the story, but fit in perfectly. As always, Ray Harryhausen breaths life and personality into these creatures.
The genii of the lamp (Richard Eyer) is a minor disappointment, as he has the appearance of a young boy. I guess I wanted a more impressive genii. But the character of the genii is well crafted. He wants to become a real boy, and as the plot moves along the genii endears himself to both Sinbad and the princess. Will he ultimately establish himself as a bona-fide member of this budding family? Will '50s family values triumph at the end?
Overall, the slightly dated and naive cultural values are only a minor distraction. This movie never fails to transport me to an amazing world past hope and tears.
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)
When Heavenly Bodies Ruled the Earth
"When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" is a follow up to the successful "One Million Years BC". It lacks the sweeping sense of an overpowering and savage primordial landscape, even though it was shot in the same location. The setting here is more mundane, much less foreboding, occasionally even idyllic in appearance.
Human presence on the planet is more assured in this movie compared to "One Million Years BC". It looks like humans are on the verge of mastering their environment, and there is never a sense that basic survival is at stake. The biggest crisis involves interactions between individuals, and individuals verses groups. When the two tribes meet up, they are cooperative and have already been on friendly terms. There are stirrings (and seizures) of religious feelings, which include elaborate funeral rites and celebrations, and most importantly, sacrificing a blond girl to whatever heavenly body (sun or moon) seems the most threatening phenomena at the moment.
As in "One Million Years BC", a distinction is made between blondes and brunettes. In this movie, blonds are considered evil. The movie opens with several young blond cavewomen set to be sacrificed to the sun at dawn by the rock tribe. But times are a-changing, the moon is coming into being and its birth disrupts the environment. One of the blond cavewomen, Sanna, escapes the sacrifice, falls into the sea, and is rescued by a handsome member of the coastal tribe. From this point the plot is reminiscent of a 1960s bikini beach party, shot through with jealousy. And if nothing else, "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth" is a gourmet feast for bikini watchers.
The opening narration says, "It is the beginnings of man living with man." They forgot to mention it is also the beginnings of witch hunts! The story boils down to a personal conflict between Sanna and the dark-haired women of coastal tribe who want to make her a scapegoat, and the obsessed rock priest who is determined to sacrifice her. Men control religion, and fight effectively, but it is women who drive this movie. Unfortunately, the story is uneven and lags in many places. The same made up language is used for dialog as in "One Million Years BC", but since there is much more social interaction in this movie the constant banter gets tiresome as the movie progresses. The music is often light and playful, which disrupts the power of the drama.
The dinosaurs do not have powerful impact on the story, even though they look great. The plesiosaurus attack and the chasmosaurus attack are excellent dinosaur scenes. The giant rhamphorhynchus attack is too derivative and lacks a connection with the story. In this movie, dinosaurs are defeated or neutralized by man in almost every instance in which they come in contact. Sanna even manages to tame a dinosaur during her exile, but this potentially amazing feat ends up with only a mediocre effect on the story.
This is a moderately enjoyable caveman movie. I appreciate it for dealing with primitive religious concepts, and savor the emphasis on heavenly bodies.
The Lost World (1925)
"Great guns we can't get back!"
Here it is, the granddaddy of all Lost World genre movies. Many have been made since this one. But this is the one that almost all others pay homage to, if not outright steal from. This is the one that first set the bar way back in 1925. And amazingly, though many have tried, few have matched or exceeded the storytelling potential first mined in this movie. The original clocked in at 106 minutes or so, the version I own from runs 93 minutes and is considered the most complete. The cut down version of 60 or so minutes is not recommended.
I watch this movie for historical enjoyment, not to watch it with the expectation of watching a great movie. It is not because this is a silent movie (there are several silent films I think are great), it is simply that the story lags in places and is a little loose in others. Even with that caveat, this is an amazing movie. According to the original 1925 souvenir program, 'It took six times longer to produce this picture than any other production in film history, for it was more than seven years from its inception to completion." It is in this spirit, of this movie as a pioneering accomplishment of imagination, that I enjoy it so much.
The movie is based on a book written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The book is great fun and is well worth reading. Much of the spirit of the book is present in the movie. For the movie a female character and a romantic triangle are introduced. I can't think of any Lost World type movies that have failed to include a female love interest, it is that compelling and necessary in this genre. However, in this movie, the love triangle is tepid and somewhat dull. I suspect some of the lost footage is tied to the trading post scene, where a love ballad is supposed to be sung. Maybe that footage would have helped deepen the romantic triangle. I doubt it. But if the love story falls flat, the characters of Challenger and Roxton are perfectly cast, perhaps never since equaled. The constant and hilarious bickering between Challenger and Summerlee, one of the delights of the book, is at least represented in this movie.
But it is the stop motion dinosaurs that justifiably make this movie famous. So many movies have failed to come even close to the bar set by these dinosaurs. This is their coming out party in a major film. They look great, as if they jumped out of one of the fabulous paintings of Charles R. Knight. They are active, quick and powerful. They fight and kill with gusto and ferocity! These dinosaurs are true tyrant lizards, unapologetic masters of their world. And at the end, with the brontosaurus swimming out to sea, we know that the true primordial can never be contained or tamed.
The setting for the movie is a wonderful combination of paintings, miniatures and actual jungle footage. And there is so much setting to play with - an inaccessible, forgotten land, intricate caves, skulking man-apes, primitive tribes (in the book, not the movie), lost explorers, volcanoes which threaten to destroy everything, and of course, the hope that something could be brought back.
This is a must see movie for all fans of the lost world genre. Who would not want to venture off into this primeval lost world? When Challenger calls out for volunteers, I want to jump up and shout, "Sign me up!"
The People That Time Forgot (1977)
Uninspired Sequel
I am a sucker for Lost World movies. This one was made as a sequel to the Land that Time Forgot. The movie picks up with an attempted rescue attempt of Tyler, who was left stranded on the lost land of Caprona. But let's face it, The People That Time Forgot is not a good movie. It has some potential but overall the movie drags. And for a lost world movie, the landscape and creatures are boring.
The first 15 minutes of the movie were great and I was hooked. The props and costumes evoke the period of post WWI. The miniature ship and float plane are particularly interesting models and interact well in their miniature settings. Our adventurers enter the lost world by flying the float plane over mountains after getting in as close to the south pole as possible in a steam ship. Just as in the movie "Land Unknown" (1957) the plane is damaged and forced to land by an attacking pteronodon. Our adventurers have arrived in the lost world! From this point however, the movie drops way down in quality.
The landscape is bleak and uninteresting. I wondered why this boring heath and volcanic rock area was chosen over a lush jungle like the first movie. Worse, the dinosaurs are a step down in quality from "Land the Time Forgot", which is saying something. They don't have much to do besides provide a glimpse of a threat through the trees and roar ineffectually. They don't eat anyone. Only one creature, a cave monster actually gets to attack our heroes.
The 'people' of this land are a let down. One group is the very silly, ever chasing and yelling at a distance cave men. They capture the adventurers, but we never get a close look at them, nor do we get a glimpse of their culture. The other 'people' of this world are the skull collecting samurai. Again, we see very little of what might make them interesting. OK, there are a few moments where the skull samurai get to pose and preen a bit while preparing to decapitate the women. But really, why bother calling the the movie 'The People That Time Forgot' if you are not going anywhere with the people? The first movie gave us so much more in terms of cultural groups.
The expedition characters are purely stock, and no interesting chemistry or conflicts develop within the party as a result of their potentially awesome contact with a prehistoric world. The expedition consists of a female photographer whose father owns a newspaper and is putting up the cash for this trip, Tyler's BFF who is determined to rescue him, his trusty half-drunk comic relief sidekick, and a not-convincing scientist type. Along the way they enlist the aid of a beautiful and scantily-clad cave girl (Dana Gillespie). She carries the film with her primordial sex appeal.
There are way too many padded scenes of the group strolling around the trees and hills. The fight scenes don't work because they are poorly done and they have no real drama because nothing seems to be at stake besides immediate self defense. There is no interaction among characters except for stock exchanges of uninspired dialog. Overall the actors seems confused and bored while they meander from point A to point B.
But there are a few good scenes in the film, one of the best being the meeting and rescue of Tyler (Doug McClure) in a skull infested prison cell. By the end of the movie, you realize why the filmmakers chose the location they did. A nearly unlimited number of explosions are set off at the climax of the film. That sequence ended up being kind of fun. But final scene of the film...awkward and lame.