ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Today we analyze a movie about a fungus from outer space (an odd place for a fungus to thrive).

Then we take a fond look at a giant spider which lived in a cave (an unlikely place to build a web. What did it expect to catch? Spelunkers?)

And finally we discuss a 1977 TV superhero movie that’s much less impressive than the big budget movies which were made later.
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Space Master X-7 (1957)



Despite the fact that the poster tells an outrageous lie by claiming there's a rocket streaking through space at some point in this movie, the movie itself is enjoyable.

But be advised: absolutely no rocket or space scenes of any kind ever make it to the screen.

What we get instead is an intelligent, interesting story in which Bill Williams and Robert Ellis play government investigators sent to a space center to examine a probe that returns to Earth with a sample of an alien fungus. Famous voice man Paul Frees plays the brilliant but cold scientist in charge of examining the strange organism found on the probe.

Frees is obsessed with the discovery, and he conducts experiments at his home laboratory, growing cultures in a large glass jar. But his work is interrupted by the arrival of lovely Lyn Thomas, his ex-wife, who wants to discuss the possibility of gaining custody of their son.

Frees is completely unsympathetic, and he proceeds with his experiments on the alien organism while his ex-wife remains as a guest in his house, periodically demanding that he reconsider his position concerning their son.

Miss Thomas eventually persuades Frees to give her custody of the child, but shortly after she leaves, Williams and Ellis discover that the alien organism has killed Frees. They suspect that Miss Thomas is a carrier of the organism, spreading it to other areas.

From this point on, the film is constructed as a documentary, complete with a Dragnet-style voice-over which provides the viewer with plot details and scientific facts. The authorities conduct a search for Miss Thomas, but she eludes them, mistakenly thinking that she is being blamed for the death of her ex-husband.

The manner in which Miss Thomas is somehow causing the periodic appearances of the alien organism is not made clear. This is one of the movie's chief flaws. The story saves its only creepy, atmospheric scenes until the very end. You may or may not feel that they're worth the wait.

On the up side, the story is reasonably fast-paced and unpredictable. In spite of its faults, this is a fairly competent little film from director Edward Bernds, one of the more active directors during the 1950s ("Queen of Outer Space", "World Without End", others).

Watch for a brief appearance at the beginning by Thomas Brown Henry ("Earth v.s. the Flying Saucers, "20 Millions Miles to Earth", many others). And look for Moe Howard of "The 3 Stooges" in a rare solo performance as a cab driver. It isn't just a cameo, and he does a fine job in this serious role.
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The Spider (1958)



[Also released as: "Earth versus the Spider"]

A popular favorite from the master of economic film making, Bert I. Gordon. Not quite as slick or as serious as "Tarantula", but loads of fun. The late 1950s produced a flurry of teen-oriented science fiction films with plenty of rock 'n roll music to fire the blood of their intended audience.

Rock n' roll music is what begins all the trouble in "The Spider"; after a high school biology teacher finds a supposedly dead giant spider and stores it in the school's gym, a band practice for the high school prom revives the dormant arachnid.

After terrorizing the town, the spider establishes a lair in a nearby cave and builds a huge web which ensnares two teens. The monster is capable of draining the fluids from the bodies of its victims' (yuck). Electricity is the weapon which the heroes hope will rid the world of this crawling monstrosity.

The screenplay was written by Laszlo Gorog and George Worthing Yates ("Earth v.s. the Flying Saucers", "It Came from Beneath the Sea", etc.).
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The Amazing Spider-Man (1977 TV movie)




Long before Tobey Maguire domed the outfit and swung down Broadway, this made-for-TV movie took a shot at moving the web-slinger off the comic book pages putting him onto the screen.

It was released theatrically in Europe.

Nicholas Hammand stars as the shy high school student, Peter Parker, who is bitten by a radioactive spider and develops super strength, adhesive hands-and-feet, and a "spider sense" which alerts him to danger.

Parker also uses his spider-mutated blood to synthesize a liquid "web" material which he can eject from small mechanical sprayers he wears on his wrists. This is how it was presented in the comic books, but later changed in the first three feature films with Tobey Maguire.

Stan Lee served as script consultant for writer Alvin Boretz on this TV treatment of the character, in which he thwarts a mind-control scheme.

"Spider-Man" never became a series, but it was popular enough to generate several other TV movies. Directed by E. W. Swackhamer. Also starring Michael Pataki, Bob Hasting, and Thayer David ("Journey to the Center of the Earth").
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)