ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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A not-bad, often-neglected little sci-fi tale starring John Agar ("Revenge of the Creature", "Brain from Planet Arous", plenty of others).

Scientist Agar's experiments turn him into a bloated, leather-faced monster who (still wearing his hat and trench coat) stalks the area, bringing death to anyone who touches him. The makeup is surprisingly good, very reminiscent of some of the monsters drawn by Jack Kirby for the old Marvel comics —


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— not to mention looking more than a little like Kirby's Ben Grimm, too


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Agar's physical appearance inspires as much viewer sympathy as it does frights — which is how the story is played. The leading lady is Paula Raymond, the lovely scientist who livened up the Museum of Natural History in "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" eight years earlier.

Director Gene Nelson's credits include "Kissin' Cousins" and "Harum Scarum" with Elvis Presley. Nelson also has co-starring roles in "Oklahoma!", "She's Working Her Way Through College", and others.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[bulldogtrekker]

I would love to see this movie; it is only 58 minutes long.

Apparently it is available on Fox Movies on Demand. I couldn't find it there, but I found it at this link:

http://silveragemovies.com/hand-of-death-1962-p-597.html

EDIT: Site doesn't work anymore.

[Bud Brewster]

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Bulldogtrekker made the above post exactly one year ago.

By a strange quirk of fate, he and I watched a Youtube download of this movie today — one year later — and chatted on Facebook. It was the first time either of us had seen it.

It wasn't any better than we expected, but it certainly wasn't as bad as it might have been.

The story is very simple, but it stays right on track for the whole 58 minutes while a grossly deformed John Agar staggers around in a panic, terrified by his horrible condition, never killing anyone on purpose, but causing the deaths of several people by accident.

And the audience stays pretty tense throughout all this, because one touch from Mr. Agar means instant and painful death.

Here's the link to the video, which is in widescreen and HD! Yeah!

_____________________ Hand of Death 1962


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

[Brent Gair]

As mentioned, Gene Nelson was in OKLAHOMA! and we see him here as singing and dancing cowboy Will Parker . . . a man of considerable talent:

_____ 'Kansas City' scene from Oklahoma! (1955)


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[Bud Brewster]

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Enjoy this Hand of Death trailer, then the clip above from Oklahoma, and finally the full movie from my post above.

But first, make a big bowl of popcorn, because you're in for a cinematic treat!
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_____________ HAND OF DEATH Trailer (2017)


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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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IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production.
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~ This film was unavailable to the public for 40 years, and was generally feared "lost".

Note from me: I watched it for the first time today, and I was very impressed! Of course, the fact that I wasn't expecting much certainly helped.

~ The little boy playing by the beach is Butch Patrick, who two years later was cast as Eddie Munster on "The Munsters."

Note from me: Yes, sir, a Hollywood hopeful never knows what lucky chance might lead to fame, fortune, and stardom!

~ This movie was released March 1962. Even though, in this black-and-white movie, John Agar's cracked skin is described as black, in the movie posters his skin is orange. The Marvel comic Fantastic Four #1, drawn by Jack Kirby, was cover dated Nov. 1961, and featured Ben Grimm as the Thing, who had cracked orange skin that looked similar.

Note from me: Ah-HA! I told ya the monster in this movie looked like Ben Grimm! And the above info suggests that Kirby might even have been inspired by it!

~ Right after John Agar's research scientist character accidentally kills his assistant by touching his arm, he caps off the chemical beaker holding his experimental liquid but he puts it in the suitcase so that it's upside down when he grabs the handle to leave, potentially spilling the contents as he goes back to get help from the elderly Doctor.

Note from me: Yep, John Agar's character does one dumb thing after another in this movie. In fact, it would make a good "drinking game" if a group of sci-fi fans watched it together and took a shot of whiskey every time Agar screwed the pooch!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)