ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Today we start out with a romantic comedy about and a lady who falls in love with a monster, but he won't marry her because his best friend, a Mad Scientist, can find a way to make him look human. So, the Mad Scientist turns her into a monster, and the couple lives happily ever after.

The second post is about a guy named Kioga who left his island home to visit the big city, but he lost the directions to get back home and he ends up living on the streets in New York.

The third post is about a space mission that discovers a new planet, but when they get back to Earth, the astronomers can find it so they can't confirm the discovery, and the astronauts all get demoted to janitors.
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The Lady and the Monster (1944)



[Also released as: "Tiger Man"]

A strange and disturbing movie, based on a bizarre concept, first introduced to the public in a book entitled "Donovan's Brain" by novelist and screenwriter Curt Siodmak.

This first screen version casts Erich Von Stroheim as the doctor who removes the brain of a gangster killed in a plan crash. Von Stroheim keeps the brain alive in nutrient-filled tank. The strong-willed gangster's brain finds a way to overcome its bodiless condition by telepathically controlling Von Stroheim's lab assistant, Richard Arlen, and sending him out to clear up some unfinished business.

Because horror films were so popular in the 1940s, the laboratory scenes (and the film's general atmosphere) are dark and gothic in flavor.

Directed by George Sherman from a screenplay by Dane Lussier and Frederick Kohner. ____________________________________________________________________

Lost Island of Kioga / Hawk of the Wilderness (1938)

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Entertaining feature version of the modest Republic serial "Hawk of the Wilderness", about an uncharted island near the North Pole which possesses a temperate climate, a smoldering volcano, and a tribe of hostile Indians (polar Indians?).

The Indians threaten a group of explorers who arrive in search of treasure. Kioga (Bruce Bennett) is a combination Tarzan-and-Tonto, a bare-chested and buckskin-clad hero. He's the orphaned son of a previous explorer, raised on the island by a faithful manservant. Kioga defends the explorers from two enemy groups: the Indians and the mutinous crew of the ship that brought the adventurers.

The scenic locations appear to be northern California, which makes it pretty tough for the viewer to buy the alleged near-polar locale. No explanation is given for the sunny weather, but there are some nice special effects of an exploding volcano.

William Witney's direction lacks flair, the acting is mediocre, and the plot never gets too exciting -- but it never gets too dull either. The cast includes Monte Blue, John English, Jill Martin, and Noble Johnson (the native chief in "King Kong"). ____________________________________________________________________

The Lost World (1925)



Willis O'Brien, the special effects genius behind "King Kong", crafted FX for this spectacular adventure from the book by Arthur Conan Doyle, about a legendary plateau in South America where dinosaurs still live.

Professor Challenger is the only scientist in London who believes the legends because he's been there. He leads a second expedition to the plateau to bring back proof that the dinosaurs exist. The explorers witness titanic dinosaur battles and a mass exodus from an earthquake.

The pioneer animation isn't up to the level of "King Kong" (partly due to the fact that it was filmed at eighteen frames per second), but the film is still a marvelous treat for animation buffs. Watch for such details as moving clouds in the background during dinosaur scenes; these had to be animated, too.

After the explorers survive a multitude of hair-raising adventures, Prof. Challenger selects the specimen he wants to take back to London to silence the doubting Thomas' -- a full-grown brontosaurus! But the monster gets loose and stampedes through the city. Directed by Harry Hoyt.

There's a tragic story behind the 1960 version of "The Lost World". Willis O'brien, creator of "King Kong", spent several years during the late 1950s making preparations for a big-budget remake of his 1925 version of "The Lost World".

He made his pitch to producer Irwin Allen and the big wheels at 20th Century Fox, showing them the hundreds of preproduction drawings and paintings he had done, and he persuaded them to make the film.

But 20th Century Fox refused to let O'Brien do the film's special effects, substituting the poorly embellished reptiles instead. From all reports, O'brien's version would have been the greatest lost-land adventure movie of all time. Irwin Allen's lack of vision is puzzling in view of the fact that in 1955 he produced "The Animal World" with animated dinosaurs by Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)