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. ***. 

T-BIRD GANG

John Brinkley and Ed Nelson

T-BIRD GANG (1959). Director: Richard Harbinger. 

Frank Simmons (John Brinkley) drives up to the warehouse where his father is a night watchman and discovers he's been murdered during a robbery. Leaning that a "T-Bird gang" -- named after the getaway car they drive -- led by Alex Hendricks (Ed Nelson of New Orleans Uncensored) is responsible, Frank takes it upon himself to join the gang to get incriminating evidence against them. Eventually Police Captain Prell (Coleman Francis) cooperates and encourages Frank's undercover work. Hendricks' other employees include Barney (Beach Dickerson); blond Raymond (Tony Miller); a boy named, well, "Boy;" and Hendrick's girlfriend, Marla (Pat George). Nola Thorp plays Frank's girlfriend, Kay. 

John Brinkley 

T-Bird Gang is a minor crime meller but it benefits from two very good performances from Nelson -- quite sinister and effective as Hendricks -- and Brinkley. Nelson appeared in numerous Roger Corman films but had a successful career afterwards, while Brinkley was a sexy and talented actor whose most famous credit was probably Corman's Bucket of Blood. He and co-star Tony Miller wrote the screenplay. This was the only film directed by Harbinger. 

Verdict: Acceptable melodrama with lots of bongo music. **1/4. 

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. **.