NUDE ON THE MOON

Lester Brown

NUDE ON THE MOON (1961). Director: Doris Wishman. 

Dr. Jeff Huntley (Lester Brown) inherits a fortune from an uncle and decides to use it to build a moon rocket although his partner, Professor Nichols (William Mayer), cautions him that he could lose money that could have lasted him his entire life. Their secretary, Cathy (Marietta), is carrying a torch for Jeff, but he only has eyes for science. The two men build the rocket, take off, and land on what they think is the moon, although it does not have the familiar lunar landscape. Instead there are lush gardens and a nudist colony, where virtually everyone is undraped. (The women's breasts are exposed but that's it). These women are not only naked but telepathic. Before long Jeff, formerly cold to women, has fallen in love with the queen! 

lunar astronauts Brown and William Mayer

The odd thing about Nude on the Moon is that the first half is more or less reasonable and seems no different from other very low-budget sci-fi items of the period. However, the moon scenes are pretty dull in spite of the nudity. Lester Brown is an attractive fellow with a pleasant manner and an adequate actor, but he only made this one movie. Director Doris Wishman specialized in low-grade soft core movies centered on nudist camps. There are no sex scenes in the movie, and the two heroes never take their clothes off. The credit song, "Moon Doll," is dreadful!

Verdict: A real oddity with very little entertainment value. *1/2. 

20,000 EYES

James Brown and Gene Nelson

20,000 EYES (1961). Produced and directed by Jack Leewood. 

Dan (Gene Nelson) tries to pull a fast one on a mobster named Novak (John Banner) and winds up owing him $100,000 which he pays back in five days -- or else! With the aid of his fiancee, Karen (Merry Anders  of The Hypnotic Eye) and old buddy Jerry (James Brown) -- who used to be Karen's squeeze -- Dan concocts a scheme to steal diamonds from a museum and engineer insurance fraud. But this might prove to be even more difficult to pull off than he imagines. 

Merry Anders with Nelson

20,000 Eyes had possibilities, and the acting is perfectly adept -- former song and dance man Nelson is perfectly fine as the anti-hero -- but this is a super-cheap TV-like production and there isn't enough skill in the direction to make this percolate, let only come to a boil. The storyline is over-familiar as well with few if any twists. The best performance is given by John Banner, who later wound up as Schultz on Hogan's Heroes; he's quite good as the mob boss. 

Verdict: Nelson gives a good account of himself, but this is a tepid melodrama. **. 

HOMICIDAL

HOMICIDAL (1961). Director: William Castle. Screenplay by Robb White.

A cold, rather weird-looking blond named Emily (Jean Arless) pays a handsome bellboy (Richard Rust) to marry her, then immediately after the ceremony, takes out a butcher knife and plunges it into the stomach of the justice of the peace, drawing much blood. Emily is apparently the wife of a slender young fellow named Warren, who lives with his old nurse Helga (Eugenie Leontovitch), who has suffered a stroke and is being taken care of – in more ways than one – by Emily. Then there's Warren's half sister Miriam (Patricia Breslin) and her druggist boyfriend Carl (Glenn Corbett), both of whom come to suspect that there's more to Emily than meets the eye. The whole business is tied into Warren's upcoming inheritance and the macabre truth about his birth. 

Castle's shameless imitation of Psycho is an entertaining picture in its own right, if decidedly less “artistic.” While Homicidal may be rather stupid all told, it is an effective horror comic with fascinating elements and some well-directed murder sequences. Castle obviously didn't take it too seriously – it's often overwrought like a burlesque -- and the picture emerges as a very amusing black comedy once you're clued in to its psycho-sexual dynamics. 

Watch out! Arless goes after Leontovich

Castle introduces the picture in an unnecessary prologue, and offered theater patrons a “fright break” so they could leave the theater before the gruesome climax. Critics of the period were either amused or outraged, with some opining that the great Leontovitch was debased by appearing in such a film, and that Jean Arless had the most embarrassing debut of any actress in movies. Actually, Leontovitch offers an excellent, intelligent performance despite the fact that she hasn't a word of dialogue (not to mention her tumbling head in the movie's sickest – or funniest – sequence), and Jean Arless – according to imdb.com – was better-known as Joan Marshall, who later played an old girlfriend who's prosecuting Captain Kirk on an episode of Star Trek. Marshall also married director Hal Ashby and had a small role in his film Shampoo (1975) with Warren Beatty. Arless is definitely not Leslie Parrish, as some have theorized, who also appeared on Star Trek and was in movies [Li'l Abner/1959] under her own name before Homicidal was made. Castle also directed Strait-Jacket and many, many others.

Verdict: Not at all in the same league as Psycho, but zesty and amusing nonetheless. ***. 

ANATOMY OF A PSYCHO

Russ Bender, Ronnie Burns, Pamela Lincoln

ANATOMY OF A PSYCHO (1961). Director: Boris Petroff.

Chet Marco (Darrell Howe) is freaking out because his brother, Duke, is being executed for murder. Chet tells their sister, Pat (Pamela Lincoln), that Duke told him he was innocent, but Pat assures him that their brother was not only guilty, but was pretty much a murderous hoodlum. But Chet can't forget that he and Pat were raised by Duke, and is still grateful to him. Pat gets engaged to Mickey (Ronnie Burns), at first unaware that his father, Frank (Russ Bender of Motorcycle Gang), was the chief witness against Duke. Then Mickey makes the mistake of telling not only Pat, but Chet about his father's testimony. Already a borderline psycho, Chet really goes off the deep end now. 

Darrell Howe

Despite its title, Anatomy of a Psycho is not a psycho-shocker or slasher film although it's clearly meant to summon up images of the Hitchcock classic. Anatomy is low-budget but absorbing, and has some decent performances. Darrell Howe is effective as Chet, although one can't relate to him, the main character, because he's simply so utterly odious, doing one horrible thing after another, although the film tries to make some excuses for him. Ronnie Burns, the adopted son of George Burns and Gracie Allen, acquits himself nicely as Mickey, who winds up on trial for first-degree murder (an unlikely scenario) due to Chet's actions, but Burns retired from show biz after this film; Howe had only a few credits. Pamela Lincoln was the daughter of Verna Hillie of Mystery Mountain and also appeared in The Tingler with Vincent Price and a few others.   

Verdict: Mildly interesting if not terribly memorable melodrama. **1/4.  

THE STRANGE COUNTESS

Brigitte Grothum, Lil Dagover, and Eddi Arent

THE STRANGE COUNTESS (aka Sie seltsame Grafin/1961). Directors: Josef von Baky; Jurgen Roland; Ottokar Runze.

Margaret (Brigitte Grothum) receives menacing phone calls from a strange man (Klaus Kinski), is nearly killed on more than one occasion, and decides to accept a job offer from Countess Luana Moran (Lil Dagover) to become her new secretary. Margaret had previously worked for the countess' lawyer, Shaddle (Fritz Rasp), who importunes Inspector Dorn (Joachim Fuchsberger) to watch out for her as he feels she's in danger. This proves true even when Margaret arrives at the countess' imposing castle, and meets her son, Selwyn (Eddi Arent), the strange Dr. Tappan (Rudolf Fernau), and the oily Chesney Praye (Richard Haussler), among others. If a near-death incident on a collapsing balcony weren't enough, Margaret learns that Mary Pinder (Marianne Hoppe), a woman who served twenty years for poisoning someone, is her biological mother and is coming to work at the castle! Time to seek new employment, perhaps? 

Grothum with Joachim Fuchsberger

This is another West German thriller based on a novel by Edgar Wallace. With mysterious countesses and castles, sinister psychiatric clinics, and a hero who doesn't clue the heroine in as to what's going on and therefore manages to frighten her as much as the bad guys, Strange Countess betrays its thirties origins. While you may develop some interest as to why Margaret is on somebody's hit list, the movie never becomes gripping, although the actors are certainly game. Lil Dagover was a German actress who had a very long career and who appeared in the original silent Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. 

Verdict: Despite a dozen or so people running around in all directions this never becomes that interesting. **. 

MIAMI UNDERCOVER

MIAMI UNDERCOVER (1961/syndicated). One season and 38 hour-hour episodes. 

In this lost crime series from the sixties, Lee Bowman (of The Lie) plays Jeff Thompson, a special investigator for the Hotel Association in Miami, where the show was filmed. Rocky Graziano (of Country Music Holiday) plays Rocky, who owns a nightclub -- Rocky's, of course -- and who apparently lives with Jeff. Another regular is Lt. O'Malley (Hugh Lawrence) of the Miami Beach Police Department, who has a pretty good relationship with Thompson. Michael Shayne, which debuted the previous year, also featured a private dick in Miami and lasted a little longer. 

There are only five episodes of the show available on the Internet, and it's too bad because Miami Undercover is an entertaining series. In "Miss Venus" the female partner in "Fair Lady" Enterprises is strangled, and the victim's sister works with Jeff to bring the killer to justice. In "School for Girls" Jeff and Rocky try to find out if it's a student or a teacher who's committing robberies at a girls' school. In "The Thrush" Larry King briefly plays a DJ who is murdered because he refuses to accept a bribe to play a record that is actually pretty decent. The singer is played by Jill Corey of Senior Prom and she gives a terrific dramatic performance. In "Bet Your Death" Suzanne Lloyd is excellent as a temptress who offers Jeff $10,000 for two days work selling bonds, but he knows something is fishy and uncovers a plot to assassinate a diplomat. In "Sunken Treasure" Nora Hayden of The Angry Red Planet is a duplicitous female who embroils an innocent young couple in a murderous scheme involving a phony treasure hunt in the Florida Keys. All of these entertaining episodes, with the exception of "Miss Venus," are also available in a DVD collection. 

Verdict: Interesting old series worth resuscitating. **3/4. 

FLIGHT OF THE LOST BALLOON

Marshall Thompson and Mala Powers

FLIGHT OF THE LOST BALLOON (1961). Written and directed by Nathan Juran. 

When Dr. Joseph Faraday (Marshall Thompson) learns that the fiance, Sir Hubert (Douglas Kennedy), of Ellen Burton (Mala Powers of The Unknown Terror) -- daughter of explorer Adam Burton (Robert W. Gillette) -- has disappeared in Africa, he suggests a novel and quicker way of traversing the continent to find him: by balloon. But when it comes time to go, a mysterious man and guide known only as the Hindu (James Lanphier) arranges it so that Ellen goes along with him and Faraday instead of Adam Burton. Along the way the intrepid trio encounter a drunk cannibal queen and her cohorts, a flock of screeching attacking birds, bad-tempered gorillas, and a hostile 7 or so foot native named Golem (Felippe Birriel). On an island in Lake Victoria, the Hindu reveals his true colors. It all has to do with the ancient treasure of Cleopatra. 

James Lanphier

I suspect that Flight of the Lost Balloon was rushed out to compete with the following year's Five Weeks in a Balloon, as anything associated with Jules Verne -- who wrote Five Weeks -- was considered fair game after the success of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth. The movie is perhaps too low-budget to take advantage of its plot and scenery, with most of the trip by balloon -- which is never "lost" -- occurring via a mediocre blue screen process. 

Douglas Kennedy with Mala Powers

The actors are another story, as they handle the material with aplomb, especially James Lanphier as the very sinister Hindu, who is perfectly willing to torture Ellen to get her fiance to reveal the location of the treasure. Douglas Kennedy is also quite effective as the greedy Sir Hubert, who would rather spend years in captivity than give up the fabulous treasure he has been searching for. There's a good musical score by Hal Borne, but there isn't enough of it to drum up some excitement in key moments. Despite a lot of activity the film still threatens to become a bit tedious at times. Nathan Juran also directed First Men in the Moon and many others. NOTE: According to the Internet Movie Data Base this was an uncredited and very loose adaptation of Five Weeks in a Balloon, but 20th Century-Fox, who were working on their own version, forced them to remove all references to Jules Verne. 

Verdict: Rocket ships and subs are more fun than balloons. **1/4. 

THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS

Tor Johnson as the Beast

THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS (1961). Written and directed by Coleman Francis. Colorized version.

Brilliant scientist Joseph Javorsky (Tor Johnson) is caught in an A-bomb blast in Yucca Flats where he's trying to escape from spies, and is turned into a crazed, incoherent murderer. Cop Jim Archer (Bing Stafford), a former paratrooper, and his partner Joe Dobson (Larry Aten), find the body of one of Javorsky's victims in a cave. When Art Radcliffe's (Alan Francis) two young sons wander into the missile range, he goes looking for them and is mistaken for the deranged killer by Jim, who nearly kills the man. Will Jim and Joe stop the maddened, hulking "beast" before he can kill the missing kids or anyone else?

A rabbit befriends Tor -- sort of 

Less than an hour long, The Beast of Yucca Flats deserves it's reputation as one of the world's worst movies. In a way this is a shame as the film has a workable premise and is not badly shot. (The colorizing process of this version makes the movie look much better than it deserves.) Apparently the sound track was either lost or screwed up (possibly it was filmed silent) as the film is overdubbed, there is little dialogue and way too much pretentious narration. It's hard to judge the acting but the cast seems to consist of amateurs. Tor Johnson of Plan Nine from Outer Space infamy doesn't so much act as lurch around as if he were looking for the nearest bathroom -- or lunch counter. The pre-credit sequence features an odd ticking noise on the soundtrack and suggests that the female victim is raped after being strangled to death. The ending has poor Tor bonding with a rabbit before expiring. The music, culled from stock libraries, is almost always overdone and inappropriate. Johnson managed to amass 52 credits! Writer-director Coleman Francis appeared as an actor in T-Bird Gang. 

Verdict: Even the rabbit can't save it! *1/2. 

WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES

WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES (1961). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

The Cady Lodge, owned and run by Cady (Henry Corden), is located not far from a prison. That very night a man, Pierce, is about to be executed, although witness Sam Morgan (James Brown) isn't so sure about his identification of the condemned man. On the road Sam picks up Ellie (Merry Anders of Legacy of Blood), who turns out to be Mrs. Pierce, the wife of the man on death row. Apparently there's $600,000 floating around and both Sam and Ellie want a piece of it -- could the answer be in the condemned man's effects? As the couple conspire, Sheriff Mitchell (Roy Barcroft of G-Men Never Forget) drops by for his usual beer --- and there's two other visitors to the lodge: Martinez (Jorge Moreno), who insists that he killed the man allegedly murdered by the now-dead Pierce; and yet another "Mrs. Pierce" (Peggy Stewart)!

Corden, Brown and Anders

When the Clock Strikes, while illogical at times, certainly has an intriguing premise as well as a few good twists. It's fun to see major serial villain Roy Barcroft playing a good guy for a change. Brown and Anders offer lead performances that are competent but suggest there wasn't much rehearsal time for this very low-budget opus. Edward L. Cahn was the prolific director of seemingly a thousand B movies, including The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake, Invasion of the Saucer Men, and Voodoo Woman. 

Verdict: Minor but intriguing little mystery movie. **1/2. 

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (1961)

Robert Sterling and Walter Pidgeon

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (1961). Produced and directed by Irwin Allen.

Admiral Nelson (Walter Pidgeon) has come up with an amazing nuclear submarine, the Seaview, with features that "Jules Verne never thought of." When the Van Allen radiation belt catches fire and the world seems doomed by rising heat and fire, Nelson comes up with a scheme to prevent catastrophe by shooting a missile at it, thrusting the fiery belt into space. His scientific colleagues think he's crazy, and he also meets opposition from Captain Crane (Robert Sterling) and Dr. Susan Hiller (Joan Fontaine), a headshrinker come to study the men who thinks the admiral is off his rocker. With armed subs chasing the Seaview, a saboteur on board, the rising possibility of mutiny, and other assorted dangers including floating mines and a huge octopus that grabs the sub, Nelson may never get the chance to fire his missile. 

the sky is on fire!

Irwin Allen may have been inspired by the success of Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as well as Fox's Journey to the Center of the Earth, but he came up with a winner with this fast-paced and very entertaining fantasy-adventure. Pidgeon gives one of his best performances, and the others -- including Barbara Eden as his secretary and the Captain's fiancee, and Peter Lorre [The Beast with Five Fingers] as Nelson's friend and associate Commander Lucius Emery -- are all on target throughout. The picture has a very good script by Charles Bennett and Allen that maximizes the potential of the storyline and adds suspense and tension at every opportunity. 

Sterling, Fontaine and Eden

Not everything is perfect. A scene with a big prop and unconvincing squid attacking Crane as he tries to tap into an underwater cable seems to go on forever and is not that well done to begin with (at least the octopus that shows up later is real). But the business with deadly floating mines that jeopardize the ship is quite tense and there are other exciting sequences as well. It's also fun watching Pidgeon slapping disrespectful seaman Frankie Avalon [Horror House] in the face and a certain lady falling into the shark pool. Winton Hoch photographed the film -- the splendid Seaview looks terrific -- and Sawtell and Shefter contributed an effective score. The whole business with Nelson having to fire the missile at an exact day and moment from the Mariannas is gobbledygook but who cares? The movie was successful enough to engender a TV series that lasted for four years.

Verdict: One of Allen's very best. ***1/4. 

MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961)

Giant Crab attack!

MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961). Director: Cy Endfield. 

Near the end of the Civil War, a group of Union soldiers, one rebel, and a war correspondent wind up in a balloon that gets caught in a major storm and dumps them on a large deserted island. On this mysterious island the men -- including Captain Harding (Michael Craig), young Herbert (Michael Callan), Sgt. Pencroft (Percy Herbert), Cpl. Neb Nugent (Dan Jackson) and Gideon Spilitt (Gary Merrill) -- encounter giant animals such as crabs and bees, and discover an unseen benefactor who turns out to be the infamous Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom). Jules Verne's novel has undergone a great many changes -- including the addition of the outsized monsters -- but it was a partial sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. 

Michael Craig and Michael Callan

The big animals, of course, give FX wizard Ray Harryhausen a chance to exploit his stop-motion expertise, and we have very fluid crabs, bees, a big kind of chicken, and a bad-tempered squid with beady eyes. And then there's that outstanding score by Bernard Herrmann who brings every sequence vividly to life with his exciting music. Along with the aforementioned actors we have two shipwrecked ladies played ably by Beth Rogan and Joan Greenwood. Craig makes a handsome and authoritative captain, Merrill is amusing and adept as the newspaperman, and the others are all generally on target as well. 

Verdict: Very entertaining and colorful action-fantasy film. ***. 

YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST

Elaine Edwards and Craig Hill

YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST (1961). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

Roger Condon (Craig Hill), a young doctor, has to treat a dirty cop who was beaten by thugs who work for mob boss Jim Craven (Grant Richards). When the crooked cop dies, the police want to put Condon in protective custody, but he wants to stay in charge of his life. Therefore he runs off to become a sporting goods salesman -- rechristened Frank Harlow -- in a small hunting community. Meanwhile Craven and his men go on the hunt for Condon, hoping to eliminate him as a witness. The doc stays in an inn owned and run by Colonel Maitland (Willis Bouchey) and his daughter Laurie (Elaine Edwards).  

Craig Hill and Jack Mann as Lt. Carbo

The first problem with this poorly scripted movie is that the lead character is an asshole. He expresses not the slightest remorse nor regret after a cop who was assigned to protect him -- after he's refused to go to a hotel -- is gunned down (but then the lead detective doesn't seem especially bothered by this, either). His idea of "living his life" is shaving his mustache, getting contacts, and completely giving up his hard-earned career as a doctor -- say what? Laurie comes off like a hopeless she-geek -- she is so desperate to have a relationship with Condon that for a birthday present she actually gives him a picture of herself! (Talk about pushy!) Fortunately for her, Condon is equally interested in Laurie. 

As the excitement doesn't mount, Craven shows up in town with two more thugs, leading Condon to run off once more, and a gun battle develops with the old Colonel and his rifle playing a large part. You Have to Run Fast comes off like a barely-produced and padded television episode and it resists interesting developments at every turn. Craig Hill was a handsome "B" actor who went to Europe to make features. He finally got married at age 64 after having hot flings with Rock Hudson and, reportedly, Marlene Dietrich, among others. His early romantic life might have made a more interesting movie than this stinky picture. Director Cahn keeps things moving but to no avail with this bad a story. 

Verdict: Run fast from this movie. *1/2. 

JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET

Carl Ottosen and John Agar

JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET (1961). Producer/Director: Sidney Pink. 

In the year 2001 humankind has solved all of its problems and there is no war or fear of annihilation; the United Nations is the "sole governing body" of the planet. Spaceship Explorer 12, which has an international, if all-male, team of astronauts, is sent on a mission to explore Uranus, the seventh planet of our solar system. Landing on Uranus, the men expect to find a frozen wasteland, but instead they see lush forest land -- and babes! Is this yet another "Space Babes on the Moon" type fantasy a la Missile to the Moon? Not exactly. 

Just what the captain expects to find on Uranus

We learn early on that some kind of unseen presence has entered the minds of the astronauts and gleaned all of their secrets --  their hopes and dreams as well as their fears and nightmares. Lover boy and captain Don Graham (John Agar) runs into some of the beautiful women he knew back home, including Greta (Greta Thyssen). Commander Eric (Carl Ottosen) encounters the one woman he ever loved and lost years ago, Ingrid (Ann Smyrner). Svend (Louis Miehe-Renard) was always scared of rats, so he faces a giant materialization of a kind of rodent-monster. Meanwhile the evil presence that has overtaken Uranus -- a big brain with a glowing eye -- has taken up residence in frigid caverns below the surface where the team will have to try and destroy it. The ladies, of course, are just manifestations of this same creature, but it takes the guys awhile to realize this, and the Commander never does, wanting to bring the malevolent presence back to earth in the form of Ingrid!

pathetic rodent-monster

Journey to the Seventh Planet is a Danish science-fiction film released in the U.S. after some fiddling by AIP. When the nasty alien conjures up a giant arachnid to bedevil the men, the footage is actually from Bert I. Gordon's Earth vs the Spider, albeit tinted. The film's other monster is a pathetic, one-eyed clawed alleged rodent monster that is brought to life by fifth-rate stop-motion animation. Strangely, in the early sections as the men wander around wondering what on Uranus is going on, the film comes off like a Twilight Zone episode, and then seems more like early Star Trek, with similar shenanigans (aliens casting illusions and so on) and cheap production values. Despite its many flaws, Seventh Planet does work up a bit of suspense and holds the attention, although it wears out its welcome after about an hour with more than a quarter hour to go. The music is effective and there's a pleasant enough theme song at the end. 

Verdict: Watchable enough if not that memorable. **1/2.                       

CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA

Robert Bean and Betsy Jones-Moreland

CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA (1961). Produced and directed by Roger Corman. NOTE: This is the colorized version. 

Undercover agent "Sparks" Moran (Robert Towne) has become part of the gang run by Renzo Capetto (Antony Carbone). Renzo has taken some gold from Cuba with the help of a bunch of Cuban soldiers, and is heading toward Puerto Rico in his boat. Accompanying him are his moll Mary-Belle (Betsy Jones Moreland), her brother Happy Jack (Robert Bean), and an idiot named Pete (Beach Dickerson) who can do uncanny imitations of animals. Wanting the loot for himself, Renzo plans to kill off the soldiers and blame it on a sea monster, which turns out to actually exist. 

Carbone, Jomes-Moreland, and the monster

This black comedy was filmed back to back with Corman's Last Woman on Earth and reuses the three leads from that film, Carbone, Jones-Moreland, and Towne, who became better known as a screenwriter. Creature has a couple of chuckles, but its mostly lame, although Corman keeps it moving so fast you never get as bored as you might have (although you probably won't want to ever see it again). The monster, which seems to consist mostly of seaweed with two pop-out white eyes like out-sized golf balls and claws, is about eight feet tall. Other characters include fat Rosina (Esther Sandoval) and her daughter, Mango (Sonia Noemi Gonzalez), and Carmelita (Blanquita Romero), who develops a yen for Sparks.  

Romero, Towne, bit players, Carbone

The odd thing about Creature is how well photographed it is, with each shot well-composed as to how characters and objects are situated in relation to one another and within the frame (see photo at left). You expect this (but don't always get it) in some well-known, expensive movies, but not in crap like Creature. The cinematographer was Jacques (or Jack) Marquette, but while I've seen other films he's shot -- such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman -- nothing he's done has ever struck me the same way in the photographic sense. (Wow -- I get to look at 50 Foot Woman one more time !) Marquette seemed to photograph anything that came his way, from Corman films to Elvis Presley movies to TV shows and had a very long career.

The screenplay was written by Charles B. Griffith, who turned in better work for Corman's Attack of the Crab Monsters and some others. Inexplicably, this was actually remade in 2019. 

Verdict: Sixty minutes of silliness with some spirited performances. **. 

ATLANTIS THE LOST CONTINENT

Joyce Taylor and Sal Ponti (Anthony Hall) 

ATLANTIS THE LOST CONTINENT (1961). Produced and directed by George Pal. 

Greek fisherman Demetrios (Sal Ponti, here billed as "Anthony Hall") finds a woman floating in the sea and discovers she is supposedly Princess Antillia (Joyce Taylor) of Atlantis. Demetrios and his father, Petros (Wolfe Barzell), think she must be out of her head, but she eventually importunes Demetrios to set sail beyond the Pillars of Hercules and on to Atlantis. There Demetrios thinks he will be showered with riches and marry Antillia, but instead -- unbeknownst to the princess -- he winds up a slave, as do all foreigners. Demetrios can win his freedom if he survives the Ordeal of Fire and Water, but even if he does he will have to contend with evil Zaren (John Dall), the true power behind the throne, who wants to wage war on other countries with his laser canon. Then there's that pesky volcano that keeps trembling in the background ... 

Atlantis sinks!

I first saw Atlantis the Lost Continent when I was a kid, loved it, have seen it several times since, and still get a kick out of it every time I watch it. The film has been utterly excoriated in many circles as the worst film George Pal ever made, which I personally find ridiculous. The film is fun, colorful, entertaining, well-acted by the leads (neither Taylor or Ponti may ever have been tapped to do Shakespeare, but they are perfect for this picture) and most of the supporting cast, the FX work is quite good for the time, and there's a bang-up finish involving the volcano and that runaway laser cannon. Not to mention the exciting Ordeal of Fire and Water in which Demetrios must face a bull of a man in a pit in an arena which is first full of fire and then flooded with water. 

 John Dall and Frank DeKova

John Dall (in his last film, only appearing on Perry Mason thereafter) practically steals the movie as Zaran, with the man's smiles being even more lethal than his sneers, his every utterance a treacherous double entendre. Berry (sic) Kroeger is nastiness personified as the surgeon who turns men into animal-human hybrids, and Jay Novello [Soldiers of Fortune] once again exhibits his amazing versatility as the Greek slave, Xandros, who is slowly metamorphosing into a bull. However, Frank DeKova, who plays Sonoy, the astrologer, sounds about as "Atlantean" as Fanny Brice! Edward Platt is given the thankless role of the pious priest, Azor, another in a long line of characters who point out the evils of Paganism while never acknowledging that Christianity has its own set of  negative aspects. William Smith plays the Captain of the Guard but isn't given enough time or close-ups to really register. Paul Frees not only does the narration but dubbed three of the actors. 

Berry Kroeger sizes up Sal Ponti

MGM didn't give George Pal a huge budget, so there's some stock footage and short cuts in the movie, but that's not exactly an unusual avenue to take. I love the beast men attacking Berry Kroeger, the priest taking care of Zaren, the disintegrater beam that atomizes some people and merely skeletonizes others, the metal submarine that sneaks up on the couple in their boat, the impressive destruction of Atlantis, Demetrios flinging mud at the princess, and the princess telling off Zaren, who has stolen power from her father: "You would think you wore his crown!" Say what you will, for me this is a neat picture.

Verdict: A hoot! ***. 

THE CURSE OF NOSTRADAMUS

German Robles as Nostradamus

THE CURSE OF NOSTRADAMUS (1961). Director: Federico Curiel. 

The Curse of Nostradamus was originally a 12 episode serial that played in theaters in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries. An enterprising producer decided to have the serial dubbed into English, divide it into four films (consisting of three chapters each) and sell it to American television. If you remember this film that's where you first saw it. This movie has Professor Duran (Domingo Soler) telling party guests that there are no such things as vampires and that he is forming an organization to debunk the supernatural. Unfortunately that very evening a man calling himself Erikssen (German Robles) shows up in Duran's parlor and announces that he is the 400-year-old son of the infamous seer Nostradamus. 

Julio Aleman 

Nostradamus -- for that is his true name -- is also a vampire who can control men's minds and transform into a large bat (although in this installment at least, he never drinks blood and only bares his fangs once). Nostradamus wants Duran to acknowledge who he is to the world so that he can recreate his father's cult. Until Duran agrees to do so, he will murder his colleagues. One poor man is hypnotized by Nostradamus into a death-like state and winds up buried alive. With the help of his handsome young associate, Antonio (Julio Aleman), the professor tries to save Nostradamus' future victims. Nostradamus finally resorts to kidnapping Duran's daughter, Anita (Aurora Alvarado), and the two men must affect a rescue.

The Curse of Nostradamus is a little slow-paced and decidedly low-budget, but also atmospheric and well-acted. German Robles, who has real presence, makes an effective vampire. This was followed by the oddly-titled Monsters Demolisher. Between the three of them, Robles, Soler and Aleman amassed literally hundreds of credits in Spanish-language films and television productions. 

Verdict: Minor but nevertheless intriguing horror flick. **1/2. 

BUS STOP: I Kiss Your Shadow and A Lion Walks Among us

Reason, Jenny Maxwell, Fabian

BUS STOP TV series. 

Bus Stop was an hour long 1961 drama series that lasted for one season. It focused on the inhabitants of a small town, including Grace (Marilyn Maxwell), who owns a restaurant or "bus stop;" waitress Elma (Joan Freeman); Sheriff Will (Rhodes Reason); and District Attorney Glenn Wagner (Richard Anderson). Sometimes these people participated in the weekly installment; at other times they showed up briefly or not at all.

The series has not been released on DVD yet, but there are two grainy episodes available on youtube, because these were "special" episodes. "I Kiss Your Shadow" was the 26th and final episode of the series, and it was based on a short story by Robert Bloch. The story concerns a man, Joe (George Grizzard),  whose wife, Donna (Joanne Linville), is killed in an automobile accident. He claims that Donna, who was a bit smothering when she was alive, is now haunting him, and attacks anyone who tries to come between them, including his psychiatrist, who is pushed out of a window. 

Dianne Foster

This episode has become famous because in his book Danse Macabre, Stephen King (who had probably not seen the episode in decades) wildly overpraises it. Children may have found it scary, and there are maybe a couple of creepy moments (and I never read the short story, which may be superior), but I found "I Kiss Your Shadow" to be obvious, trite, and predictable, although well-acted by the above-named, as well as by Alfred Ryder as Donna's brother and Richard Anderson. John Newland was probably tapped to direct this because of his association with the show One Step Beyond.

Anderson also has a large part and is excellent in a controversial episode entitled "A Lion Walks Among Us." which is quite well-directed by Robert Altman. Luke Freeman (pop singer Fabian) is a handsome young psycho who murders a country store clerk and seemingly gets away with it. The person who could have placed him at the scene is D.A. Wagner's wife, Sally (Dianne Foster), an alcoholic who gave Luke a lift. but then ordered him out of the car when he got fresh. 

Young Psycho: Fabian

Luke has a different story, and the defense attorney, Oliver West (Philip Abbott), who is a friend of the Wagner's, has to make mincemeat of the poor woman on the witness stand, a situation that is devastating to her husband. Rhodes Reason also appears in this episode as the sheriff and is fine. As for Fabian, he gives a better performance than expected, and uses his sexy looks and charm to etch an interesting portrait of a nasty psychopath. Dianne Foster is outstanding, especially in the courtroom scenes, and the episode is a stand out. The climactic scene was originally to have been much more violent, but even in this form there was some protest from viewers. Considering the ending of the story, I assume there were repercussions in future episodes.

Verdict: I Kiss Your Shadow: *1/2. 
              A Lion Walks Among Us: ***.