ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Donald Pleasence came close to playing a genuine Mad Scientist in "Fantastic Voyage" (he was a psychotic saboteur) and in "You Only Live Twice" (he was an ego-maniacal arch-villain), but this time he's bang on target as a crazy college professor who decides that mankind's only hope for survival is to merge its gene pool with the plant world.

He abducts students to use as guinea pigs, turns them into horrible freaks, and then cleverly sells them to a freak show exhibitor. The ones who die during the experiments are fed to his human Venus Flytrap.

Famous small-person Michael Dunn plays the operator of the sideshow. Real freaks were used as the "mutations" (a policy of questionable integrity). Tom Baker is Pleasence's warped (physically and mentally) assistant.

Julie Ege ("The Creatures that Time Forgot") and Jill Haworth provide attractive screaming heroines. Also starring Brad Harris. Directed by Jack Cardiff.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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This trailer certainly proves that the producers didn't just rely on a few unfortunate handicapped individuals to portray the mutations in the film. There's facial makeup and full-body monster suits aplenty in this lively yarn!

If you think my lurid description in the post above made the movie sound better than it really it, take a gander at the trailer!
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__________________ The Mutations (1974 UK


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bogmeister]

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Update of the famous Tod Browning horror film Freaks (1932), transplanted to modern seventies London, adding in the mad scientist bit by Donald Pleasence, here channeling the Dr. Moreau train of thought.

He's interested in creating human-plant hybrids. Tom Baker plays his henchman, an Elephant Man-type freak who is biding his time for the moment when the mad doctor will make him look normal. Baker is hostile to the other freaks in the story, not wanting to be a part of the freakshow.

Some of the characters are played by real-life carnival showstoppers. Julie Ege plays the pretty girl (guess who Baker is after).

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The film also features the last performance of Michael Dunn (Dr. Loveless on Wild Wild West), who died the previous year. Also co-stars Brad Harris, who started in Italian muscleman fantasies and the Kommisar X James Bond knock-offs.

Director Jack Cardiff began as a well-respected cinematographer and later directed several Rod Taylor films, notably Dark of the Sun (6. This is probably one of his lesser efforts but he manages to instill some unusual tension into the story.



Mutated Trivia: Baker became the latest Dr. Who right after working on this film.

BoG's Score: 6 out of 10


BoG
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