ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Today we're featuring a trio of threads which present interesting information, pose challenging questions, and make disturbing observations about today's society — such as why more of the people who were with the clown shown below aren't in jail . . . like he is.


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There's plenty of things to comment on in today's Featured Threads.
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The Deadly Mantis (1957)

IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production.
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~ Two actors went on to become well-known TV detectives: Craig Stevens became Peter Gunn on Peter Gunn (1958), while William Hopper became Paul Drake on Perry Mason (1957).

Note from me: I've tried watching Peter Gunn reruns on the channels which show old series like that, but I became bored very quickly.

But being a Perry Mason fan (with the box set of the series to prove it), I've often thought that a spin-off series called Paul Drake Investigations would be terrific! Drake's agency would present evident to DA Hamilton Berger so he could try the suspects and get convictions.

It would show the audience that he was skill DA who only lost to Perry Mason!

The series would focus on Drake's skilled detectives investigating crimes, both at the request of Perry Mason and on their own. Occasionally the episodes could include "cross-over" episodes with Perry Mason and company.

~ Alix Talton (who resembles Della Street in this movie) was reunited with William Hopper the following year on the Perry Mason (1957) TV series episode 'Perry Mason: The Case of the Long-Legged Models (1958)', in the role of Eva Elliot.

Note from me: Frankly, I don't see any resemblance between Miss Alix Talton and Miss Barbara Hale, but the lady in this movie is very attractive.

Since I have the complete series box set of Perry Mason, I'll have to take a look at the episode listed above.

~ Hopper's character says grasshoppers and crickets aren't flesh eaters like the Mantis, but this is totally wrong, since they are just as carnivorous as the Mantis — even preying upon the Mantis from time to time. It can be a toss up as to who eats who when they meet in the wild.

Note from me: This is good news for fans like me of Beginning of the End, which present grasshoppers as ravenous carnivores which threaten to devour mankind!

~ Marge reads a newspaper which contains a story with the headline "Mercury New X-ray Source, Two Scientists Report". This same story appears in many movies and TV shows with newspaper close-up scenes. In real life it originally appeared in newspapers in 1934.

Note from me: I'm confused. Was the report review to the planet Mercury being a source of X-rays, or was is talking about the element, mercury?
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The Blob (1958)

Thinking Outside the "Plot"!
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~ A Question for the Members: As I've often suggested in my posts about 20 Million Miles to Earth, we can't really assume that an alien creature who hatched here on Earth and only survived for a short time was not much move intelligent than we give it credit for.

With that in mind, just how intelligent was the Blob?

~ My Theory: As I described in my previous post, the Blob didn't just gobble up anything organic which happened by. It literally hunted for prey — and it demonstrated considerable skill in doing so.

After consuming the old man, the nurse, the doctor, and the car mechanic, it sought out groups of people who were in enclosed buildings.

One of these was a bar it cleaned out completely except for a lone survivor (a scene not shown on screen, but revealed in dialog), and then it tried to consume Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut after trapping them in the store.





But they hid in the freezer and learned that the alien couldn't tolerate cold.

Its next attack was on the projectionist as the movie theater, followed immediately by a mass attack on the theater audience.

But how did the alien — which was fairly large by this time — get from store to the movie theater without being seen by anyone in the town?

McQueen had alerted the sheriff and his deputies about the creature, and his teenage friends had been told about it, too. If the car-sized creature had just oozed down main street, somebody would have seen it and sounded the alarm!

So, does this indicate that the alien was intelligent enough to realize that (a) it need to avoid being seen, and (b) it needed to find a "target rich environment" where there was plenty of prey?





When the theater turned out to have too many people to corral and consume —





— it fled to the small dinner and enveloped the structure, trapping a small group of victims inside which it assumed it could easily consume!

Clever.

Unfortunately, Mr. McQueen (aka "Wanted: Absorbed or Alive") used a fire extinguisher to hold it at bay, and he conveyed this effective defense to Sheriff Dave so he could mobilize the town and immobilize the Blob!

Gentlemen, I submit that the Blob was at least as intelligent as the alien in Alien!

And that brings up an interesting question: what would happen if the Blob went up against the Alien — which has acid for blood and is made of an acid-proof material?

Inquiring minds want to know!
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1984 (1956 England)

Thanks for sharing Bill Warren's review with us, Mike. He certainly doesn't misrepresent this movie.

I agree with Bill, and not just because I'm the eternal optomist who wants uplifting stories, likable characters, and happy endings. I still kinda wish James Cameron had allowed the Titanic to miss the iceberg (and let The Love Boat hit it instead.)

However, I must admit that the way things are going in today's society, we certainly need a cautionary tale about how corrupt and powerful The Government can get, and how clueless and easily deceived the public has become.

It seems like the Republicans want us the believe that January 6th was just a Comic Con that got a bit rowdy!


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