ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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It amazing me sometimes that we watched some of the ultra-low-budget science fiction movies that can out in the 1950s.

Nabonga and Monster from the Ocean Floor are prime examples.

When The Mysterians came out in 1957 we were so desperate for good sci-fi that it looked pretty damn good. I’m not really a fan of that movie, but the sequel — Battle in Outer Space — is a spectacular space adventure with ambitions special effects.



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Monster from the Ocean Floor (1957)

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Roger Corman spent a whopping $12,000 on this six-day wonder — his very first movie, but certainly not his last (or his best). The "monster" is a giant one-eyed octopus (a Cycloptopus! ), but we don't get to see it until the last ten minutes.

When we finally do, it's mighty hard to make out because the scenes are so dark, but careful examination reveals that the monster is actually walking on its tentacles like a spider (very cool), and there seems to be little lights on the tips to highlight the tentacles movements!

This screenshot doesn't show the tentacles, but it does show the remarkable detail in that eye!





However, it's almost worth the wait to finally see the monster, because the hero rescues the attractive heroine in the climax when he drives his nifty mini-sub straight at it several times while the monster reaches for it — and then he rams the creature right in the eye!





Directed by Wyott Ordung, who wrote the so-called script for "Robot Monster". Starring Anne Kimball, Stuart Wade, and Dick Pinner.

A word about the poster for this movie — the artist actually represented the monster fairly accurately! But if that middle tentacle had been a centimeter lower and to the left, the young lady's father would have gotten out his shotgun and demanded the monster marry his daughter! ____________________________________________________________________

The Mysterians (1957 Japan)



Japan's answer to "War of the Worlds" was one of the most ambitious and enjoyable imports during the 1950s, handsomely decked out with futuristic sets, fleets of flying saucers, giant war-robots, and alien refugees from the recently demolished planet of Mystroid.

The humanoid aliens (dressed in Flash Gordon-like costumes) want to mate with our women and save their dying race.

Director Inoshiro Honda was Japan's leading sci fi film maker ("Godzilla", "Rodan", many others). ____________________________________________________________________

Nabonga (1944)

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If you're a fan of Buster Crabbe (Flash Gordon) or Julie London (sultry singing superstar), you'll love this movie.

And if you're aware of the fact that many movies which featured men in gorilla suits made good use of the personal talents (and the personal gorilla suit) of Ray "Crash" Corrigan, you'll like it even more.

The plot involves the efforts of Buster Crabbe to exonerate his late father (a banker) from charges of embezzlement. Buster goes on safari to find the missing money and the wreckage of the plane crash which killed his father.

He meets a "White Witch" who turns out to be the daughter of the embezzler (now dead). But the daughter (played by the lovely Julie London in her film debut) won't give up the money, and she is guarded by a loyal ape played by (you guessed it) Ray Corrigan.

Directed by Sam Newfield from a story and script by Fred Myton on a modest budget which was put to good use.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)