ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

7

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Imagine that you passed away, and because of your less-than-perfect behavior you . . . well . . . you got sent to hell. (Hey, don’t scoff at the idea. I’ll bet everybody down there was surprised when they first arrived. )

Satan tells you he’s got both good news and bad news. The good news is that your punishment will be mild — you’ll spend eternity watching sci-fi movies.

The bad news is, you’ll have to watch the three movies below, over and over.

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Monster from Green Hell (1957)

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_________ Monster From Green Hell movie trailer


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Goldweber, David Elroy (2012-06-14). Claws & Saucers: Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy Film: A Complete Guide: 1902-1982 (Kindle Locations 50046-50071). David E. Goldweber. Kindle Edition.

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What's Happening: Cosmic rays turn wasps into giant wasp-beetles in Africa

Famous For: One of the worst Insect Fear pictures

It's probably useless to criticize a cheap derivative picture that was clearly considered nothing more than a product to everyone involved.

For one thing, Bill Warren has already picked out every bad quality (many) and every good one (few). For another, the only reason people watch these things 50 + years later is for camp.

With help from Warren, I'll list the bad and good qualities. Then I 'll say a little about camp.

Plot, characters, and acting are all substandard. A few typical elements of Insect Fear pictures are present: the discovery of a dead victim, telltale footprints, and scientists working with military men to track the creatures down.

But one key element is surprisingly absent: people in peril. The wasps (who are obviously beetles, not wasps) live only in remote Africa, the "Green Hell" territory where even animals refuse to go. So we never feel worried about anything. The heroes know what they're looking for from the beginning. They never even need to find the One Thing that will beat the monsters.

Good qualities include a striking image in the opening scene — a military science lab with a sloping skylight that reveals a picturesque desert beyond — and some decent, if brief, stop-motion animation. The wasp-beetles look good, even slightly scary, and make a shrill buzzing.

The most sustained stop-motion sequence takes about 10 seconds, when a constrictor snake attacks one of the insects and is duly dispatched. I also thought the Spanish girl looked cute with her slightly crooked teeth.

Fans seeking camp must be ready for boring stock footage — a lot of it — from Stanley and Livingstone (1939). According to Warren, an elaborate ending was filmed, with a giant cave full of wasps (puppets) getting inundated by steaming lava . . . but the steam fogged the cameras and ruined all the footage!

Eduardo Ciannelli (the Arab guide) starred in Mysterious Doctor Satan. Crane also co-directed the astonishing Manster.




BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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Attack of the Puppet People (1958)

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_________ Attack of the Puppet People Trailer


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Mr. B.i.G. is at it again — after astounding us with The Amazing Colossal Man (57), Bert I. Gordon switches things up by shrinking down a group of people.

In a sense, there is a giant in this one, too — the villain of the piece played by John Hoyt. He seems to be a nice, harmless doll maker, but in reality he has been shrinking down various people for some time before the film begins. His secretary has disappeared so he hires a new one (June Kenny).

Then a salesman (John Agar) comes around. They soon get suspicious over the disappearances and become the latest additions to the doll maker's special collection — there's 6 of these little people in all, each about 6 inches in height.

The mad doll creator explains his technique. It's similar to the transporter of The Fly films, involving the dissolution and reintegration of matter — at a smaller level. His chief aim is to just relieve his loneliness at choice moments. At all other times, the doll people are kept in suspended animation in their containers.


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The whole visual of the doll people in their clear plastic containers recalls the doll people of Dr. Praetorius in The Bride of Frankenstein.

Mr. B.i.G.'s FX aren't too shabby, with a multitude of giant props to keep things in perspective. He also uses the split screen technique a lot. I think this was more a labor of love for Gordon because of his background in puppetry — he even includes a scene with a real puppet show.

He has also written that actor Hoyt considered this his favorite role. One weak part to the script is the scene when the doll people first make an appearance. They seem strangely complacent with their lot in life, even at 2 weeks or so. This diffused the possible tension of such a scenario. There's also an annoying little girl character who almost makes away with a shrunken cat.

The ending is abrupt, with most of the puppet people still shrunken.

BoG's Score: 5.5 out of 10

Trivia of Puppet People: This movie obviously tried to capitalize on The Incredible Shrinking Man, released the previous year.

UK TITLE: SIX INCHES TALL

In one scene at a drive-in, we see the film The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)


BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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The Brain Eaters (1958)

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This is a low budget rip-off of Robert Heinlein's The Puppet Masters, which got an official film adaptation in 1994.

I think I read somewhere that Heinlein wasn't pleased with this and either sued or threatened to sue. Roger Corman was forced to take his own name off the credits as part of some behind-the-scenes deal. It's an alien invasion tale of parasites from outer space which control human beings (see also the 1st season episode of Star Trek TNG - Conspiracy).

You know a film like this is very low budget when there are a few scenes with narration rather than characters actually speaking, as if the soundtrack was lost or unusable. Ed Nelson stars as the hero scientist. This does have an atypical downbeat ending, and the overall tone is surprisingly grim for what should be a cheesy sci-fi tale — once a person is taken over, they are regarded as dead.

But, it's mostly dull.

Brain Trivia/Star Trek TOS actor alert: Leonard Nimoy (his name is misspelled in the credits) appears in one late scene as some old scientist who ends up inside the earth drill that brings the brain eaters to the surface. He's hidden under old age make-up. One can probably recognize his voice.

BoG's Score: 3 out of 10


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