ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Akim Tamiroff is a mad scientist who merges his atoms with those of a dead vulture that shared a grave with the body of a 200-year old witch.

(I can't believe I got all that information into one coherent sentence . . . )

He turns into a blood-thristy vulture-monster with Akim Tamiroff's head.

(That mental image will keep me awake late into the night.)

The hero of this strange yarn is Robert Hutton ("The Slime People", "The Colossus of New York"), and the heroine is Diane Claire. Broderick Crawford (TV's "Highway Patrol") is an English Lord -- which may the most incredible thing about this film. Filmed in color but released theatrically in black-and-white. Written, produced, and directed by Lawrence Huntington.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[MetroPolly]

Holy mackerel! That's the plot!

The CHFB loves to go after this turkey, and I never could figure out the dang plot!

YIKES!

[Sens8]

Despite the various plot flaws & casting oddments, I still find this one somewhat creepy, especially in b/w (which I think was only for the US theatrical release). Lots of night-for-night stuff, with good emphasis on lonely settings with lots of shadows. Too bad for CHFB folk if they can't get something out of it.

[MetroPolly]

Now, I never said they didn't get anything out of it. They get a fall on the floor laughing good time!

Who in blazes saw the script and thought this would be a good thing to put on film?

[Gord Green]

That's not a vulture . . . that's a Turkey!

[Bogmeister]

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This comes across as a horror film, but the creation of the titular monster is via "nuclear transmutation," a theory forwarded by the newly-arrived hero-scientist (Robert Hutton), who deduces all this with basically no evidence.

But, he's right — some local mad scientist has indeed grafted himself with a dead vulture by means of highly radical, advanced scientific wizardry and is terrorizing the local rural area. He has only three actual targets — the descendants of the family which buried the villain's ancestor alive.

I guess he really knows how to carry a grudge. The whole premise and the plot are quite absurd, but it's somehow compelling, especially for kids, who may find it very creepy — including the prototypical eerie music score.



Some of this reminded me of Island of Terror (66) — it has the same theme of science going way out of control with horrifying results, and a similar setting. It's not as good, has quite a few slow spots, and lacks a superior cast (though Akim Tamiroff is pretty good).

Broderick Crawford sort of walks his way through this.

The climax is a bit baffling. The hero is unable to convince any of the authorities of what is really going on — no surprise there — but he takes it upon himself to dispose of all the evidence after the threat is over, probably because the truth is too terrifying to make public. This assures that the coppers will never know the facts — why this supposed "hero" makes this judgment call may be a critique of all modern scientists.

BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10


_______________ The vulture 1967 Full movie


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BoG
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