ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Welcome to National Betamax Day! Warm up the old 25" Sony TV and pick a good spot on the couch. It's time to watch the Late Show at three in the afternoon!

__________ TV Commercial for the Sony Betamax


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And now . . . here's our feature presentation.

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One of producer-director Roger Corman's shoe-string-budget projects. This one is about a frightened group of people trapped on a Pacific island with a group of mutated over-sized crabs.





The crabs are intelligent, evil, and hungry for human brains (portrayed in some gruesome scenes). After dining on their favorite treat, these crabs are able to speak with the voice of the deceased.





There are some genuinely scary moments provided by scenes in which the monsters lure new victims away from the surviving group by calling softly from the darkness, using the voices of the victims whose brains they've devoured. The crab-monsters are full-sized mockups, and they actually move fairly well.





The cast includes Russell Johnson ("It Came from Outer Space") and Jonathan Haze ("It Conquered the World"). Female lead Pamela Duncan is a fetching heroine.








Interesting trivia: Originally co-billed with Not of this Earth.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

The characters in the movie could have used the help of a giant overland crab-eating octopus.

http://divemagazine.co.uk/life/6971-octopus-snatches-crab-on-land
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

Holy crap! All these years I thought Harryhausen had cheated outrageously when he showed the giant octopus in It Came from Beneath the Sea reaching it's tentacles out of the water and climbing up the Golden Gate Bridge! I was convinced that an octopus needed to be immersed in the water to support it's weight while slithering around.



But this video clearly shows that an octopus' tentacles can whip around in the air with no trouble at all -- not to mention being fast enough outof the water to zip across the rock and catch the crab, then restrain the creature and drag it back to the pool it came from.

Amazing!





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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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There are several versions of the trailer for this movie on Youtube which look absolutely dreadful, but this one is not only crystal clear, it's a double feature trailer for Attack of the Crab Monsters, followed by an equally beautiful trailer for Not of this Earth!

If this doesn't put you in the mood for both movies, nothing else will!

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______Roger Corman Double Feature (Trailer 1957)


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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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I like this wacky movie for some darn reason, so here's a few interesting trivia items from IMDB.
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Russell Johnson broke his toe while splashing around in the water during one scene. Due to the low budget of the film, director Roger Corman had a stage tech tape up Johnson's toe and immediately ordered him back in the water to finish the scene.

Note from me: What a trooper that Russell Johnson is! Actors are told to "break a leg" when heading out to give a performance. Talk is cheap, but Russell put his foot where his mouth is!

Wait . . . that doesn't sound right.

Ed Nelson "played" the crab monster with Beach Dickerson operating the monster's claws.

Note from me: A team effort in the very best sense of the word! These two guys played Ensign Quinlan and Seaman Ron Fellows respectively. No cushy trailers and VIP treatment for the actors in this movie, no sir! If they weren't in front of the camera as their characters, they were waltzing that crab around and eating the cast members who got paid more than they did!

Allied Artists Pictures released this film on a double bill with Not of This Earth (1957) to many drive-in theaters with the tag line "Terrorama! Double Horror Sensation!"

Note from me: I wonder how many babies were conceived at drive-ins during the run of these movies.







The pictures above were taken by me at the Pipestem Drive-in in West Virginia. The second one shows a friendly family who agreed to pose for me to get a "typical family night at a drive-in".

The third one shows my daughter (All Sci-Fi member Ticket2theMoon) and my grandson posing one afternoon when we made some pictures at this still-thriving theater when she and her family actually lived in that area.

I recorded a set of "pre-show and intermission" music-and-snackbar promos on CDs for the Pipestem in 2006 which were modeled after the ones we all remember from the 1950s and 1960s, mixing classic oldies with my own enthusiastic plugs for the snackbar.

They still play my CDs each night for the patrons.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[CinemaBill]

It was much like that with Al Adamson, too.

Everyone on set, except for the older Stars, helped with everything. Including quickly loading equipment, since he didn't have city permits. Half the time we were lucky to have a complete script.

He and Sam Sherman were quite a pair.
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CinemaBill

[Bud Brewster]

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The recent newspaper ads I've found for double features in the 1950s inspired me to go looking for more!

The idea of going to a drive-in or an indoor theater when I was a kid and seeing some of these co-billed movies is fun to contemplate — like these two for example.



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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]

GETTING TO KNOW OUR FAVORITE MONSTERS!
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We love the giant monsters from our favorite sci-fi films, but just how much science and how much fiction is involved in these movies?

I went looking for videos which reminded me of the great educational film we were treated to in Them!, and I found one that even pays tribute to Attack of the Crab Monsters (with a great clip), while talking about science fiction monsters!

I threw in a bonus video on this one, too.

Enjoy!
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_____ Crabzilla - Photographing a "Monster" Crab


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____________ Top 5 Biggest Crabs Ever Caught


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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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____ Roger Corman Double Feature (Trailer 1957)


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The title of this one may seem self-explanatory - giant crabs attack and kill humans — but not necessarily.

Some people forget that Roger Corman tried to add something extra to his little films, even though his rep now is just as the B-film schlock producer.

The film takes place in one of those very isolated locations, on an island. Things go bad swiftly, as several people are marooned and then it gets a lot worse as they find out that a couple of crabs on the isle have apparently mutated into larger specimens.

But, there's more; the crabs can absorb the minds of their victims — it gets pretty eerie.



In Keep Watching the Skies, author Bill Warren opines that lead hero Richard Garland looked more like a villain. The more standard heroic-looking guy was played by Russell Johnson. He did a few of these Golden Age Sci-fi pics, notably It Came From Outer Space (1953). He went on to more fame in the sixties as the Professor in Gilligan's Island.

Also in a small role is Ed Nelson, who also appeared in stuff like Teenage Caveman (1957)

BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10




BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Bud Brewster]

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I like this quirky low-budget movie enough to have bought the double-feature DVD. Somehow it works, in spite of all it's faults.

It's completely inexplicable — like falling love with a beautiful girl who doesn't know the difference between Grover Cleveland and Grover from Sesame street.

Hey, the heart wants what it wants!

Roger Corman's movies remind me of the old joke where the man in the restaurant says, "Waiter! There's a fly in my soup!"

And the waiter calmly replies, "Please, sir, don't say that so loud . . . or everybody will want one!"

________________ Grover & A Fly In My Soup


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

[Gord Green]

Russell Johnson should have learned to stay away from beaches! (And "three hour tours"!)
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

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Your comment started me thinking about something. There those poor castaways were, stranded on a tropical island, just the seven of them.

Gilligan and the lovely Mary Ann

The Professor and the gorgeous Ginger

Mr. Howell and his agreeable wife . . . Lovey.

And finally, the cheerful Skipper.

Nothing to do all day (and all night) but to cultivate close relationships and share personal anecdotes and sing songs on the beach in the moonlight and cultivate even closer relations.

Gee . . . I wonder if they ever had trouble with crabs!


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