ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Folks, are you yearning for the ability to walk through walls and rob banks without ever opening the door?

Well, now you can! Just click on the link below and find out how you can become a 4D Man!

But wait! There's more, click in the next twenty minutes and you'll receive — absolutely FREE — a crash course in how to be a super secret agent, just like Derek Flint!

And that's STILL not all!

For a limited time only, you can join an elite organization composed of totally emotionless aliens who are planning on conquering the Earth!

Act now and become part of the In Crowd before mankind is totally eradicated! Membership is free! All you have to do is . . . doze off.



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4D Man (1959)




From the people that brought us The Blob (Thank you very much! ) comes this unique gem from the 1950s.

Robert Lansing plays a scientist whose brother is trying to perfect a way to make solid objects pass through each other. Lansing finds out about his brother's radical concept and tries some experiments of his own. He succeeds so well that he takes the idea a step further: he makes himself pass through solid objects.





The process has an adverse affect on his mind, and he starts reaching through walls and display windows to steal cash and jewelry.





Unfortunately, the use of his new power causes him to age rapidly, and the only way he can rejuvenate himself is to absorb life-energy by passing through another human being -- even though this kills the victim.








Robert Lansing's performance is quite good, and so are those of co-stars Lee Meriwether and Patty Duke (age 12).





Robert Strauss (Stalag 17, The Seven Year Itch) is sadly miscast as an unscrupulous fellow scientist. He walks around acting wooden and grouchy -- a waste of brilliant comedic actor.

Director Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr. created a good film on a meager budget, just as he did with The Blob. The special effects are impressive (and in color), devoid of any cheap "see-through" superimposed images. Whenever Lansing walks through a wall, he looks like he's stepping into an opaque liquid.





Watch for an eerie scene in which Lansing walks slowly across a room towards an intended victim, passing through tables and chairs, ignoring them as he advances toward a terrified man.

FYI: The title is not scientifically accurate. We all know the 4th dimension is time, but Robert Lansing is moving through space -- so this movie really ought to be called 3-D Man, strictly speaking.
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In Like Flint (1967)



Derek Flint is back, that super-duper secret agent who stops his heart when he wants to relax, keeps his own private harem, and knows absolutely everything.

This time he takes on an ambitious group of scheming ladies who plan to dominate the world by substituting look-alikes for world leaders and using electronically rigged hair dryers to brainwash all the women (!).





This sequel to Our Man Flint is slanted more toward comedy than the original, with a little less action and a lot more camp. The spy craze had waned a bit, so the producers wisely elected to make the comedy more overt. Both the original and the sequel are highly enjoyable.





The funniest line in the film is delivered by Coburn when he learns that the President has been replaced by an ex-actor whose face was changed by plastic surgery. Coburn looks amazed as he mumbles to himself, "An actor as president!"

Prophetic.





Good music by Jerry Goldsmith. Lee J. Cobb returns as the head of ZOWIE. Jean Hale is the pretty blonde heroine.





Yvonne Craig (Batgirl) is a hot-blooded Russian ballerina, and Andrew Duggan is the true villain of the piece.





A few passable special effects enliven the climax, in which Flint is launched into space and ends up in a capsule with blonde Russian cosmonauts. Forgive the science faux pas presented by the scene in which Flint uses his sonic beaming belt buckle to propel himself through space to reach the capsule with the hot Russian babes in it.







Directed by Gordon Douglas. Rumor has it that The President's Analyst (which starred Coburn) inherited certain aspects of an unmade third Flint film.

The promotional artwork done for the film by Robert McGinnus (the great artist responsible for the Bond posters) is outstanding. Here are a few examples.




















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Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)



A chilling motion picture, well directed by Don Sigel, with a script co-written by Daniel Mainwaring. The story is based on the novel "The Body Snatchers" (aka "Sleep No More") by Jack Finney. The excellent musical score is by Carmen Dragon.





For years Sam Peckinpah claimed that he had contributed to the script, but the claim was challenged strongly by Daniel Mainwaring. However, Peckinpah does appear briefly in one scene as a meter reader.





The best scene in the film takes place in a greenhouse where several alien pods burst open and disgorge half-formed copies of the horrified humans. This scene is a show-stopper — despite fact that the film's FX only cost $15,000.





A prologue, a new ending, and a voice over-narration were added after the film's initial release to help the audience follow the strange plot. In the added scenes, the story opens with Kevin McCarthy being brought into a hospital, raving about alien invaders.





Two doctors (Whit Bissell and Richard Deacon) listen to McCarthy's strange story, which the audience sees as a flashback. At the end of the movie the doctors are understandably skeptical about McCarthy's weird yarn, but an unexpected event lends credence to his story.

Many film reviewers criticize these added scenes as unnecessary, an unwise attempt to conclude the story with a happier ending. But these scenes serve a valuable purpose, increasing the viewer's sympathy for McCarthy and his efforts to convince someone that mankind is in danger.





The alleged "happier ending" does not establish that mankind will win the battle against the aliens — it simply implies a Chapter Two in this epic struggle. Mankind will have a fighting chance in the war, but the outcome is definitely open to debate.

There is, however, one small flaw in the story which bothers most viewers. Through dialogue, the film establishes that the alien duplicates replace the real people and steal their memories. However, one famous scene near the end strongly suggests that the aliens are possessing the bodies of the humans.





Ignore this small glitch and just enjoy one of the most intelligent sci-fi films of the 1950s. And don't miss the sexy dialogue between suave Kevin McCarthy and lovely Dana Wynter.







The 1978 remake has some fine points, and it remains very true to the basic concept. Leonard Nimoy has a small but effective role as a psychologist.

It also includes a clever cameo by Kevin McCarthy near the beginning of the film. Kevin runs across the street in front of the main characters, screaming the same warning he did in the conclusion of the original!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)