THE HYPNOTIC EYE

THE HYPNOTIC EYE (1960). Director: George Blair.

In this sick but entertaining movie, a series of women are horribly disfiguring themselves and then claiming they were completely unaware they were doing so. Could these terrible accidents have something to do with hypnotism? Naturally a detective on the case (Joe Patridge) takes his spunky girlfriend Marcia (Marcia Henderson) to see the act of the sensational Desmond (Jacques Bergerac), who hypnotizes, among others, Marcia's friend, Dodie (Merry Anders), who winds up washing her face in acid later that evening. Brave Marcia decides to find out exactly what happened between Dodie and Desmond, and does a lot more to solve the mystery than her boyfriend. Desmond's assistant is zestily played by Allison Hayes of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, although her portrayal here makes her giantess seem positively benign. Ghoulish and a bit ugly at times, but an undeniably effective shocker. See if you can spot Henry Aldrich himself, Jimmy Lydon [Corky of Gasoline Alley], in the role of an emergency room doctor; I completely missed him. George Blair also directed The Adventures of Superboy pilot and many B movies. 

Verdict: Compelling shocker. ***. 

THE CRAWLING HAND

The hand runs amok

THE CRAWLING HAND (1963). Director: Herbert L. Strock. Colorized.

Captain Lockhart (Ashley Cowan) is the latest in a line of astronauts who are taken over by some strange kind of force while out in space. Lockhart's ship explodes, but his severed arm is found on a beach by Paul (Rod Lauren of The Young Swingers) and his girlfriend, Marta (Sirry Steffen), who freaks out. Inexplicably, Paul takes the arm home, where the hand strangles his landlady, Mrs. Hotchkiss (Arline Judge). Then whatever affected Lockhart in space begins affecting Paul. Will Sheriff Townsend (Alan Hale Jr. of Thunder in Carolina) be able to get Paul under control after he attacks Marta or will he have to shoot him? 

Sirry Steffen and Rod Lauren

The Crawling Hand has some interesting elements and could have been turned into a fairly good movie, but it goes in all the wrong directions and is never as creepy as intended. Probably the most interesting thing about it is the cast, which includes the Skipper from Gilligan's Island, former star Richard Arlen, old-time actress Arline Judge, Kent Taylor [The Crimson Key] and Peter Breck as scientists, and Allison Hayes of 50 Foot Woman fame, criminally wasted as a secretary with only a couple of scenes. Tristram Coffin of King of the Rocket Men also shows up for one sequence as a security chief. Rod Lauren gives an uneven performance, but Steffen showed promise; she only had six other credits, though. Herbert L. Strock also directed Gog.

Verdict: Had possibilities, but this doesn't really work. **. 

GUNSLINGER

Beverly Garland, Jonathan Haze, Allison Hayes

GUNSLINGER (1956). Produced and directed by Roger Corman.

"Sometimes I like awake two or three seconds worrying about it." -- Erica.

1878: Marshal Scott Hood (William Schallert) of Oracle Texas is shot dead in his office right in front of his horrified wife, Rose (Beverly Garland). She immediately shoots and kills one of two assassins and catches up with the other one at her husband's funeral, shooting him dead, too, as he stands hypocritically at the gravesite -- a great scene. 

Beverly Garland and John Ireland

Rose then decides to make herself the marshal of Oracle until a real marshal can show up in two weeks. In those weeks the feisty widow cleans up the town and wages war with Erica Page (Allison Hayes), who owns the Red Dog saloon. Rose insists that Erica keeps regular hours and that the trampy dancing girls leave town (they later attack Rose en masse). Erica and Rose have a zesty cat fight which the latter wins, leading to the former calling for a gunslinger named Cane Miro (John Ireland). Cane is paid $3000 to off the law in town -- Rose -- only Cane finds himself falling for the lady and vice versa. Meanwhile Erica, manipulating things behind the scenes, has bet virtually everything she owns hoping that the railroad will run through Oracle. Will Cane ultimately side with Rose or Erica?

Ireland romances the 50 Foot Woman

There are two obvious influences on Corman's Gunslinger. The first is Johnny Guitar, which came out two years earlier and also featured two women, Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge in this case, in a power struggle (both on and off the set). Then there's Duel in the Sun, made about ten years earlier, in which lovers Jennifer Jones and Gregory Peck have a climactic gun battle -- Gunslinger's climax is basically a steal from that. But that doesn't detract from the fact that Gunslinger is a well-made, well-acted and entertaining picture that is better than its reputation (trashed largely because it was featured on that silly Mystery Science Theater).

Ireland confers with Hayes in front of Haze

Corman's fast-paced direction is a plus, as is the cast. John Ireland successfully keeps you guessing as to his true character and motivations, while Hayes, the 50 foot woman herself, gives possibly her best performance in her hard-as-nails portrayal of Erica. Beverly Garland, always a superior actress who deserved better than a career in B movies, is excellent as Rose, although one flaw in her performance is that she never seems to be grieving for her beloved husband -- but then she's kept pretty busy. Jonathan Haze of The Little Shop of Horrors scores as Jake, the bartender who is in love with Erica and kills poor portly Zebelon Tabb (Bruno VeSota) at her direction. Martin Kingsley doesn't make much of an impression as Mayor Polk, who is hated by Cane, but Margaret Campbell is much better as his wife. Chris Alcaide is Deputy Joshua, and Dick Miller shows up briefly as a postal man who gets shot by the sociopathic Erica. Ronald Stein contributes a quirky and effective score. 

Verdict: With a little more work this under-rated western could have been a real contender. ***. 

ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN

Allison Hayes after she grows to fifty feet

ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN (1958). Director: Nathan Hertz (Nathan Juran). 

"It's a sure thing it wasn't a Japanese gardener." -- The sheriff studying some giant footprints. 

Nancy Archer (Allison Hayes) has a number of serious problems. Being married to the unfaithful "Handsome" Harry (William Hudson) has turned her into a raging dipsomaniac. She has particularly been affected by Harry's affair with Honey Parker (Yvette Vickers), whom he's got stashed in to the local hotel. 

Yvette Vickers and William Hudson

But poor Nancy has a much bigger problem. Driving away in a huff from her husband, who's been eyeing Honey at the bar, she comes across a spherical UFO in the highway. A huge giant man (Michael Ross, who also plays a bartender) steps out of the UFO and makes a grab for her fabulous diamond, the Star of India. Later on Nancy again encounters the giant, with brave Harry leaving her to the big guy's tender mercies. Nancy is later found on top of her mansion's pool house. 

"Something's happened to Mrs. Archer!" Eileen Stevens

If that weren't bad enough, during the night poor Nancy grows into a giantess, almost throwing her hysterical (in every sense of the word) nurse (Eileen Stevens) into conniptions. Then comes the titular "attack," with Nancy bursting out of her elephant chains, tearing the roof off of her mansion, and strutting into town to take care of her husband and "Honey." Has Handsome Harry finally met his match? 

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is a hoot. It is very clear that the filmmakers, everyone involved in the production, did this with their tongues in their cheeks, and were having fun with the whole concept and all of the characters as well. Playing it straight, more or less, just makes the flick more entertaining. Considering that Nancy is not only rich but rather sexy in her way, one wonders why Harry wants to bother with that tramp, Honey Parker, although it's a possibility that his wife's neurotic qualities might have driven anyone to distraction. Hayes is effectively angst-ridden as Nancy, Hudson is fine as the cold-blooded Harry, and Yvette Vickers nearly walks off with the movie as Honey. After Harry implies that he will murder Nancy so he can run off with Honey, he tells her to "read the papers." Unfortunately, his murderous mission is interrupted by Nancy's abrupt change in size. When Honey next sees Harry, she scornfully states "I read the papers." Vickers is an amusing. sexy vixen who knows her way about a line. Another funny scene (of many) is when Nancy throws her drink at a TV set when the announcer (Dale Tate) intones: "Come now, Mrs. Archer -- A man may ignore a million dollars, but fifty!"

The effects of the movie are catch as catch can. You can see through the giant and the giant-sized Mrs. Archer, but the space man's huge prop hand isn't bad. The movie never tells us what happens to Nancy's bedroom after she "blows up like a balloon," but one can imagine that her expanding body knocked down a few walls and she has to lie on the floor wrapped in sheets. Roy Gordon and Otto Waldis are fun as Nancy's doctors, Frank Chase is a delight as Deputy Charlie, who also has a yen for Honey, Ken Terrell makes a convincing manservant, Jess, and George Douglas is solid as the sheriff. Ronald Stein's evocative score is a decided asset. A 1993 TV remake completely missed the mark because it went for out and out comedy. 

Verdict: Great fun, and a virtual catalog of 1950's Americana. ***.