ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Here's a perfect blend of the OLD and the NEW — the Classics and the modern sci-fi films!

We kick things off with Quatermass and the Pit / Five Million Years to Earth (1967), a British sci-fi that offers wild concepts and stunning special effects.

Then we delve into Predators (2010), the perfect movie to cure southern rednecks of their urge to hunt down helpless animals instead of staying home with their wives and kids.

And finally we examine a classic which demonstrates the sad plite of the "little man" — those nameless Americans who struggle to earn a living, be good husbands and fathers, and battle giant spiders in their basements.









Today's Featured Threads are dedicated to the principles which make America great.
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Quatermass and the Pit / Five Million Years to Earth (1967)

Andrew Keir stars in this third film involving the famous British scientist, Professor Quatermass.

When a buried alien spaceship is unearthed during the construction of a London subway, Quatermass is called to investigate.



One scene is wonderfully reminiscent of "The Day the Earth Stood Still"; a group of soldiers and engineers try to penetrate the indestructible hull of the spaceship. Inside the ship they find the remains of the dead Martian crew, midget-sized insect creatures in a honeycombed hive.



Adding to the mystery is the fact that the area around the hatch of the ship is littered with the remains of ape-like animals resembling prehistoric men. The thick-headed government and military men persist in believing the indestructible ship is a propaganda weapon sent by Germany during World War II!

They pay a terrible price for their ignorance, and all hell breaks loose when various occult-like phenomenon begin to disrupt the area.

The scenes of destruction and mass hysteria are genuinely shocking. The basic concept of this film (involving the evolution of mankind and the origin of certain superstitions) is intelligent, thought-provoking, and disturbing.

The film does a remarkable job of incorporating ancient myths and legends into a hard science story. The special effects (credited to Bowie Films) are excellent, and there are a generous number of them. The alien ship is beautifully designed and constructed under the supervision of art director Ken Ryan and production designer Bernard Robinson.



The whirlwind pace and the spirited direction by Roy Ward Baker keeps the viewer riveted to this highly original story. There isn't a shred of padding in the narrative (no love interest, no comic relief), just a lean-and-mean science fiction thriller.

James Donald contributes a fine performance as the dedicated anthropologist. Barbara Shelley is the courageous and beautiful assistant to the scientists. Original story and screenplay by Nigel Kneale. Fine score by Tristram Cary.

A highly recommended film.
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Predators (2010)

My problem, see, is that I've got this great idea for a way to explain the origins of both the Predators and Aliens that builds a little on what we saw in Alien vs Predator, but Hollywood refuses to steal my idea and use it, so I go into movies like this with a negative attitude.

You know, like -- "Ah, that was okay . . . but mine wooda' been better."

Actually, I kinda liked Alien vs Predator, but it needed something. It needed my idea.

I think I pitched the idea on the old All Sci-Fi, but that's gone now, so if Hollywood ever does steal my idea, I won't be able to prove a thing.

Man, there ain't no justice . . .

Anyway, your review convinced me to watch this one again, so I put it on my Netflix list. I hope you're satisfied, mister! I was supposed to go to the gym on the day the movie might arrive next week, but now . . . well, I'll probably forget to go!

Darn.
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The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

I really hate the fact that I missed seeing this one in 1957, when I could have gotten the full soul-changing effect of being a nine year old kid immersed in a fantastic experience through that magic gateway -- a giant movie screen.

Instead, I was a teenager who saw it in the 1960s on a b&w television, and even though I enjoyed it, there's no comparison between the thrill of sitting in a large audience in a movie theater (or the backseat of the family car at a drive-in) and the comparatively mundane environment of the den in your home.

I missed my chance to be truly transformed by this movie. Oddly enough, I saw one of Jack Arnold's other movies one year later, The Space Children, at a drive-in theater and it became my favorite science fiction movie of all time! (And now you know why I chose my user name . . . )

IMDB trivia says this: Several of the gigantic props (the scissors, nails, and mousetrap for example) were part of the Universal Studio tour for several years.

I took that tour in the mid-sixties with my parents and remember the guide pointing to the giant scissors mounted on the wall of a prop storage warehouse the tram drove through while he told his passengers what films they were used in.

While looking for a picture of those scissors I found this shot and several other interesting items.



The Incredible Shrinking Executive?



IMDB trivia: Richard Matheson had originally written a screenplay for the sequel called The Fantastic Shrinking Girl in which Louise Carey begins to shrink herself. Universal had planned to produce it but the project was eventually scrapped.

This is just a cute publicity shot, not a behind-the-scenes picture from the unfilmed project mentioned above.



"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door." But is bigger really better? When it comes to mouse traps, does size matter?



A scene from the movie? No, not unless newspapers started downsizing much sooner than we realized.



This would make a great picture for a poster that read Children, never play with matches!



One real chair and two reduced-size props? Nope, same chair and two reduced-size Grants. Look closely for the clues: in the middle picture, the chair's legs cast a fairly sharp-edged shadow, but the shadow created by Grant's leg looks suspiciously fuzzy.

And in the right picture, the butt depression is not under his butt. I think something heavy was placed on the chair to depress the cushion (a phone book?), but it was positioned a bit too far forward to line up with Grant's Incredible Shrinking Caboose!



You're absolutely right about this movie, Spike. It presents a story that fully explores the concept and gives the audience an amazing experience. I think I'm ready to jump into my combination time-machine-and-age-regression device so I can leave 2015 as a sixty-seven year old man and arrive in 1957 as a nine-year-old kid.

Then I can beg my parents to take me to the drive-in to see The Incredible Shrinking Man.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)