ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

I love this review from Jimbo Berkey's site -- Free Classic Movies — for Attack of the Giant Leeches, along with the pictures he includes and the link to watch it or download it!
____________________________________________

Our horror adventure takes place at a lake near a small town in Florida very close to Cape Canaveral where the government is experimenting with nuclear energy in their effort to send rockets into outer space.

__

Lem Sawyer is a good ole' boy poacher who is checking his traps one night and enjoying some moon shine when he spots a huge monster in the water. Lem fires several shots at the creature and high-tails it out of there as quick as he can.

__

Later at the general store everyone believes that he is having delirium tremors from his homemade hooch, but later that night he gets killed by the monster as Liz Walker, the sexy young wife of the portly old storekeeper watches.

__

As more people disappear into the lake, including sexy Liz, never to be seen again, State Wildlife agent Steve Benton, played by Ken Clark, goes on the hunt for whatever is out there. The Sheriff thinks that some big gators are to blame, but it seems that strangely there are no big gators . . . no gators at all in the lake.

__


This horror flick form Roger and Gene Corman puzzles me a bit . . . I'm not sure if it was deliberate, but there is certainly a strange twist in the plot that I've not seen before. The monster blood-sucking leeches take the victims to their underwater cave where all of the victims are alive and wailing for help.

__

When the local doctor sends a bundle of dynamite to the bottom of the lake to kill the monster, all of the victims except for the girl are sucked into the water and die on their way to the surface . . . so the good doctor is actually the killer, not the monsters!

__

Let me know if I missed something, but that's how it looked to me.

In any case, this is a better-than-average monster thriller from the 1950's that I think is worth watching not once, but once in a while . . . when the moon is full and I have an appetite for strange monsters in the dark.

__

Pop a big bowl of white kernel popcorn with plenty of warm melted butter on it and enjoy the show.

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

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

I've never seen a decent print of this movie (and I suspect they don't exist), but even the bad prints manage to deliver a pretty scary movie — not bad for a movie shot in eight days for $70,000. And this trailer gives us a nice taste of the unsavory flavor of the story (which sounds contradictory, but I'm standing by it! )
________________________________


______ Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959) - Trailer


___________


________ Attack Of The Giant Leeches @ Youtube


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

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

IMDB has 9 trivia items for this movie. Here's a few of the ones I found the most interesting.
________________________________

According to director Bernard L. Kowalski, producer Gene Corman didn't want to pay the grips the extra money for pushing the camera raft while they were filming in the Pasadena Arboretum in the water, so first Kowalski and his brother did it and later Corman put on a bathing suit and did it himself and ended up in a hospital for a few days.

Note from me: Proof positive that being a cheapskate filmmaker is hazardous to your health.

The film's Spanish title is "El Pantano Diabolico", meaning "The Diabolical Marsh."

Note from me: First of all, The Diabolical Marsh is a GREAT title! And the actual translation of this movie's title is Ataque de las sanguijuelas gigantes, which is probably hard to say even if you speak fluent Spanish! One the other hand, El Pantano Diabolico rolls trippingly off the tongue!

Lead actress Yvette Vickers promoted the film by stripping off for a Playboy centerfold.

Note from me: I had no idea that Yvette's Playboy spread was done to promote this movie!

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

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

This movie is a perfect candidate for the MST3K treatement. And it won the election, too!
________________________________


______ MST3K - 406 - Attack of the Giant Leeches


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

[ralfy]

1080p resolution (probably upscaled):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oinBcnTalgc

___________ Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)


___________

[Bud Brewster]

______________________________________________

Hey, the picture quality is pretty good! Thanks, Ralfy.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

Here's another YouTube member who has created Drive-in Double Feature videos which include a vintage drive-in "welcome messages”, the trailer for the movies, and a double feature

It even has those great old “snack bar” promos during intermission!

"So, get comfortable, folks! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!"

Enjoy!_

Double Feature Drive-In: The Killer Shrews & Attack of the Giant Leeches


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