ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS

The crab prepares to feast

ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS (1957). Produced and directed by Roger Corman.

A research party on an isolated atoll where atomic testing took place has disappeared, and a new group has been sent to investigate. Although they believe that the members of the first party are deceased, they eerily keep hearing their voices in the night. It develops that the radiation has mutated two land crabs into giants who develop the thought patterns of the people they devour, and turn against humans to protect their species. As one scientist puts it, "once they were human. Now they're land crabs." The crab telepathically calls out in the voices of the dead men in order to pounce upon the members of the new group. To make it easier for the hungry crabs to turn the scientists into prey, they use explosive energy charges to blow up the island bit by bit, giving the potential victims less places to run to.

Richard Garland and Pamela Duncan

Although the basic premise of the story might have been taken from an old horror comic tale, Attack of the Crab Monsters adds some unique elements of its own. It would be easy to dismiss the flick as absurd and highly illogical -- why does only one crab devour all of the members of the first party, for instance  -- but it's hard to dismiss the effectiveness of Roger Corman's adroit direction and the sheer disgusting creepiness of the situation the scientists find themselves in. (If anything, the actors in this completely underplay the terror and disorientation their characters must be feeling.) 

"Foolish. Very foolish."

The actors include "B" movie stalwarts Pamela Duncan [Soldiers of Fortune], Russell Johnson, Ed Nelson [T-Bird Gang], Mel Welles, Leslie Bradley, Richard H. Cutting and Beach Dickerson [Creature from the Haunted Sea, which was also directed by Corman]. Ronald Stein contributes a score which adds to the dread atmosphere, and the film is well-photographed by Floyd Crosby. The highlight of the film is a surreal sequence when the one remaining giant crab emerges from the ocean and telepathically shouts out at the survivors -- "foolish, very foolish" --  in a French accent no less! The low-tech effects fit the production perfectly and are kind of charming. NOTE: For more information on this film and others like it see Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: Gotta love those crabs. ***. 

HOT ROD RUMBLE

Richard Hartunian as Arnie Crawford 

HOT ROD RUMBLE (1957). Director: Leslie H. Martinson. 

Arnie Crawford (Richard Hartunian) belongs to a racing gang called the Road Devils but is treated like an outsider, possibly because of his sullen nature or out of jealousy over his effect on women. His best buddy, Ray (Wright King), is an Arnie-wannabee who makes a play for Terry (Leigh Snowden), Arnie's girl, although the two are having a rough patch. Terry goes off for a drive with Hank (Larry Dolgin), and someone runs them off the road, killing Hank. Fellow Road Devil Jim (Brett Halsey of High School Hellcats) is convinced that Arnie is responsible, and the whole town turns against him, except, seemingly, for Ray, who may have his own agenda. Meanwhile Arnie hopes to raise the entry fee so he can race and win some cash ... 

Wright King and Hartunian

Hot Rod Rumble is an exploitative title for a melodrama that with a little more care and a more thoughtful screenplay might have emerged as an effective dramatic piece. With presence and sex appeal as well as genuine acting ability, Hartunian makes a solid impression as Arnie, and he gets good support from King and Snowden, among others. Hartunian certainly had all the ingredients for a major career, but he had only four credits, with his last being in 1961. He lived another ten years and died too young at 39. Wright King lived to 95 and amassed 114 credits. Also in the cast is John Brinkley [T-Bird Gang] as a gas station attendant and friend of Ray's. A strange aspect to Hot Rod Rumble is that in the climactic car race not a single car remotely resembles what one would call a "hot rod." Leslie H. Martinson also directed Hot Rod Girl.

Verdict: Some good acting makes this more compelling -- albeit in a minor way -- than you might imagine. **1/2. 

ASSIGNMENT REDHEAD

Carole Mathews and Richard Denning

ASSIGNMENT REDHEAD (aka Million Dollar Manhunt/1956). Director: Maclean Rogers. 

Major Gregory Keen (Richard Denning) of Army Intelligence (temporarily attached to MI-5), is assigned to look for a mysterious man known only as Dumetrius (Ronald Adam) who murdered a man and took his place on a flight from Berlin to London. Keen questions the other people on the flight, trying to get a description, but they either wind up murdered themselves or don't recall what the man looked like. In the latter category is Viennese-born Hedy (Carole Mathews), whom Keen rather rapidly falls in love with. Does she feel the same about him or she is hiding something -- or both? 

Alex Gallier and Ronald Adam

The most memorable scenes in Assignment Redhead don't have to do with the star-crossed lovers or even the manhunt but focus on the interplay between the two main villains of the piece, Dumetrius and Max Rubenstein (Alex Gallier), who was formerly the Nazi collaborator Armand Yannis. Dumetrius has discovered that Yannis has in his possession 12 million dollars of counterfeit American money and he wants it, hoping to strike a deal with the reinvented Rubenstein. Watching these two try to outwit and outfox each other is a delight, and both actors play the roles with restrained zeal. As for the others, Denning and Mathews are professional enough, although Denning "underplays" the more emotional moments which are outside his range. The supporting actors -- Brian Worth as Captain Ridgeway, Jan Holden as a helpful cigarette girl -- are a bit more flavorful in their interpretations. Mclean Rogers also directed Calling Paul Temple.

Verdict: British suspense flick holds the attention. **3/4. 

PUBLIC DEFENDER

Reed Hadley as the Public Defender argues a case

PUBLIC DEFENDER. (1954 television series). 70 half-hour episodes.

Reed Hadley had formerly starred in Racket Squad where he put away the bad guys, but he switched hats for this new series and is defending them (as "Bart Matthews"), although many -- but not all -- turn out to be innocent. The cases were supposedly taken from real-life public defender files -- with the state and the name of the P.D. being stated at the end of each episode -- but this is a bit suspect as one episode, "The Director," clearly takes place in Hollywood but the public defender is from South Bend, Indiana! Say what?

Patrick O'Neal as the (alleged) "Forger"

Public Defender was a more interesting show than it might sound like, and during its two-year run it presented many memorable episodes. "Think No Evil" has Jimmy Lydon accused of armed robbery. "Confession of Guilt" features a woman who is forced to shoot her ex-husband (an excellent Dan Haggerty). "Third Floor Rear" stars a notable Marshall Thompson and Frances Rafferty in a tale of a widower with a little boy who is up against his dead wife's parents. "The Forger" has Patrick O'Neal playing an accused forger who has no less than fourteen witnesses against him. "Badge of Honor" concerns a young cop who falsifies a report and is importuned to do the right thing. "Escape" has a man escaping from a work farm when he gets a letter from a lady that he's in love with -- and she's not worth it (Anne Kimbell gives a notable performance in this episode). "Pauper's Gold" is an especially excellent episode starring Douglass Dumbrille [The Catman of Paris] and Gloria Talbott [The Leech Woman] in a story of a man let out of jail for robbery who is re-arrested.

Marshall Thompson in Third Floor Rear"

"The Failure" concerns a veteran bookkeeper and family man who steals money from his employer because he can't afford nice things for his wife and children. "The Murder Photo" stars DeForrest Kelly in a story of an endangered  little boy who inadvertently takes a photo of a killer's car. In "Crash Out" a convict with only thirty days to go tries to break out of prison. ""All That Glitters" concerns a man accused of shooting his wife who insists that he didn't do it. Guest-stars on the show included Robert Clarke, Randy Stuart, Marie Windsor, Paul Langton, Glenn Langan, Esther Dale, Ann Doran, Martha Hyer, Richard Travis, Percy Helton, Phyllis Coates, Hugh Beaumont, Richard Crane, Frankie Darro, Dennis Hopper and Natalie Wood. Frequent directors for the series included Erle C. Kenton and Budd Boetticher. 

Verdict: Highly interesting early crime show with a solid Hadley as the man you'd definitely want defending you. ***.

THE CRIMSON KEY

Kent Taylor

THE CRIMSON KEY (1947). Director: Eugene Forde. 

Larry Morgan (Kent Taylor) is a none-too-successful private eye -- he still owes his secretary Daisy (Vera Marshe) several weeks of back salary -- who finds a much-needed client in Mrs. Swann (Bernadene Hayes). Mrs. Swann has sensed a distraction in her husband, Dr. Swann (Douglas Evans), and wants Larry to find out if he's seeing another woman or if it's something else. In rapid order, both Swann and his wife are soon murdered, but Larry decides to earn his retainer anyway and keep investigating. Riiiight. 

Doris Dowling and Kent Taylor

This brings him into contact with a number of suspects: entertainer Paris Wood (Ann Doran); her fiance Jeffrey Regan (Edwin Rand); artist Peter Vandaman (Ivan Triesault);  Dr. Swann's adoring assistant Miss Phillips (Victoria Horne); psychic psychiatrist Huntley G. Harlow (Milton Parsons of The Hidden Hand); his seductive confederate, Heidi (Louise Currie); the jealous Steven Loring (Dennis Hoey); and his attractive, dipsomaniac wife, Margaret (Doris Dowling). Everything seems to center on a key that was in the possession of the Swanns and may have secret information inside a locker. Larry has the usual love-hate relationship with the cop on the case, Captain Fitzroy (Arthur Space of 20 Million Miles to Earth). 

Dennis Hoey, Kent Taylor and Arthur Space

When Larry and his secretary learn that Dr. Swann has been murdered they express absolutely no sympathy for either him or his widow -- only dismay over the loss of a paying client -- so it is out of character for Larry to want to keep investigating just because the now-dead woman paid him several hundred dollars -- he would just go out and drink and let the cops do their job, which is what he first suggests to Mrs. Swann before her own murder. A bigger problem with the movie is that despite its complicated plot (with all the familiar elements of the genre) and relatively fast pace, it's so talky and dull. Taylor and the other actors -- especially Doris Dowling -- turn in perfectly good performances, but despite a satisfying conclusion this just doesn't work. The lack of a strong musical score is a another major deficit. 

Verdict: Private eye movie from 20th Century-Fox that never really catches fire. **. 

HIGH SCHOOL HERO

Freddie Stewart

HIGH SCHOOL HERO (1946). Director: Arthur Dreifuss. 

The third "Teen  Agers" film from Monogram features the old -- and I mean old -- high school gang up to assorted shenanigans at Whitney High amidst singing and dancing. Freddie's (Freddie Stewart) rival Jimmy (Jackie Moran) is now at Fairview High along with his buddy, Roy (Frankie Darro), and Jimmy is still trying to court Dodie (June Preisser). The only thing that will keep the Whitney football team from being trounced by Fairview is by secretly substituting Dodie for Lee (Warren Mills) during the games. When this subterfuge is discovered, the football team resorts to using dance moves to confound their opponents. In another development Freddie has been told that his show for the governor's appearance has been canceled in favor of professional entertainers. Dodie stupidly blames Freddie for this, but he has a plan. He nearly gets in hot water with sexy singer Chi Chi (Lita Baron), and Dodie's sister, Betty (Noel Neill) is on hand to report it all for the school paper. 

Lita Baron as Chi Chi

High School Hero is good-natured nonsense that features a good cast and some nice musical numbers. Freddie Stewart has quite a nice voice as well, and does a fine job crooning the ballad "You're Just What I Crave." Lita Baron scintillates during her nightclub act and has fun trying to vamp the innocent Freddie. Milton Kibbee and Belle Mitchell are back as Professor Townley and Miss Hinklefink, who has a crush on the professor, and Leonard Penn is cast as a psychology professor who ignites the romantic interest of Dodie's other sister, Addie (Anne Rooney). Just when you think the man couldn't possibly appear in yet another movie, Pierre Watkin shows up as the governor!

Verdict: Another amiable Monogram musical. **1/2. 

THE NIGHT STALKER COMPANION: 25TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE

THE NIGHT STALKER COMPANION: A 25th Anniversary Tribute. Mark Dawidziak. Pomegranate Press; 1997.

A major "fan boy" if ever there were one, Dawidziak has put together a new edition of his Night Stalking: A 20th Anniversary Kolchak Companion with more information. The book is an entertaining look at the history of the character, portrayed by Darren McGavin, and the two telefilms and TV series that he starred in. Like most fans, Dawidziak could be accused of overstatement and slavish devotion to Kolchak, but on the other hand, in a section when he looks at opinions of the TV show and well-known people who represent both positive and negative sides, he admits that the one-season series Kolchak: The Night Stalker was not all it could have been. (The naysayers towards the show include Stephen King and Darren McGavin himself!) Dawidziak also looks at the trials and tribulations of Jeff Rice, who wrote the original novel that became The Night Stalker and was treated abysmally by Hollywood and even by his own agents. The book could have used a more eagle-eyed copy editor but it has loads of photographs. There are chapters on the two telefilms and synopses and critiques of all of the twenty TV episodes. The book was published before the short-lived 2005 reboot of the series which cast Stuart Townsend as Kolchak.

Verdict: Fun read for Night Stalker fans. ***. 

THE SPANIARD'S CURSE

Lee Patterson and Susan Beaumont

THE SPANIARD'S CURSE (1958). Director: Ralph Kemplen. 

Guy Stevenson (Basil Dignam) is sentenced to death in a British court after being convicted of murdering an aging party girl. Stevenson mentions something about "Assize of the Dying," which turns out to be a curse on those who passed judgment on him. Margaret (Susan Beaumont), the ward of the sentencing judge, Manton (Michael Hordern), is not so sure of Stevenson's guilt, and neither is Mark (Lee Patterson), the half-brother of the victim. With the help of Manton's son, a reporter named Charles (Tony Wright), Margaret and Mark try to uncover the truth. Stevenson dies of a heart attack, and the jury foreman is run over in the street ... Is the curse beginning to work? 

Michael Hordern and Tony Wright

The Spaniard's Curse is more a work of irony than it is of the supernatural. I was surprised that it wasn't based on a play because at times it seems very talky and stage bound. There is, however, a creepy scene in a cemetery at night, and the film does work up some minor suspense at the very end. The identity of the killer will probably not come as much of a surprise, but it leads to an interesting, dramatic and affecting climax. Patterson, a Canadian-born actor who appeared on Surfside 6 and who also did several British films, is okay as Mark, and Beaumont makes an appealing heroine. Wright just sort of walks through the movie, but Horden is excellent and easily out-acts everyone else, although there are some on-the-money supporting performances. 

Verdict: Minor but somewhat entertaining British suspense film with fine work from Hordern. **1/2.