EYE ON SCIENCE FICTION

EYE ON SCIENCE FICTION: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers. Tom Weaver. McFarland; 2003.  

Tom Weaver has put together a number of collections of interviews of people involved with horror/sci fi films of the past, and this is one of the very best. The great cover features a shot of the "cyclops" inside the alien spaceship in The Atomic Submarine. Inside are interviews with producer Herman Cohen (who describes poor Barbara Payton with a vulgar term); Mike Connors of Mannix and several B movies; Arnold Drake discussing his screenplay for The Flesh Eaters; David Hedison giving his frank opinion of his series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Brett Halsey discussing his career in both American films and Italian giallo pictures; John Hart, who played both the Lone Ranger and Captain Africa; William Wellman Jr. on the lost Macumba Love; and others. 

Verdict: If you're like me, you'll devour this book practically in one sitting. ***1/2. 

SCIENCE FICTION STARS AND HORROR HEROES

SCIENCE FICTION STARS AND HORROR HEROES: Interviews with Actors, Directors, Producers, and Writers of the 1940s through 1960s. Tom Weaver. McFarland; 1991. 

This is another great collection of interviews conducted by Tom Weaver [Attack of the Monster Movie Makers], some of which appeared previously in various magazines. In this collection we look at everyone from Acquanetta of Captive Wild Woman fame to Robb White, who wrote House on Haunted Hill and Homicidal for William Castle. We learn that Noel Neill was rude to Phyllis Coates because Coates was hired first as Lois Lane for the TV Superman after Neill had been in two Superman serials. Yvette Vickers talks about working on Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Attack of the Giant Leeches. Herk Harvey discusses making his low-budget classic Carnival of Souls, with its spooky amusement park scenes filmed at an abandoned pier called Saltair near Salt Lake. Nancy Kovack of Jason and the Argonauts frankly discusses her disappointment in her career. Interestingly enough, the person who comes off the worst is Richard Matheson, who seems boastful and even implies that he's better or more important than either Poe or Lovecraft! Kim Hunter, Anna Lee, Janet Leigh, composer Albert Glasser, and many others are interviewed in the book, which offers many fascinating behind-the-scenes details of the picture business, especially low-budget filmmaking. 

Verdict: Very worthwhile series of interviews. ***1/2. 

TALK'S CHEAP, ACTION'S EXPENSIVE: THE FILMS OF ROBERT L. LIPPERT

TALK'S CHEAP, ACTION'S EXPENSIVE: The Films of Robert L. Lippert. Mark Thomas McGee. BearManor; 2014. 

This is a very entertaining look at the output, life and career of Robert L. Lippert, a prolific producer of mostly B movies from the forties to sixties. The book is divided into four chapters or sections -- Screen Guild, Lippert Pictures, Regal Films and Associated Producers, Inc -- which examine different periods in Lippert's career. Genre films Lippert produced include The Lost Continent, Unknown World, The Quatermass Xperiment, The Fly (one of his most famous and successful pictures), The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price, The Earth Dies Screaming, and The Horror of It All with Pat Boone; he also did non-genre films such as The Steel Helmet and The Baron of Arizona, also with Price, and many westerns. Lippert started out in the business by owning a chain of theaters, then decided to fill the theaters with his own productions. He entered into an association with 20th-Century Fox to make black and white cinemascope productions that didn't carry the Fox name and were released under the Regal banner. His various companies also released many films that were major money-makers, such as Rocketship X-M. Margia Dean [Sins of Jezebel], who appeared in many of Lippert's movies, was apparently cast so frequently because she was his mistress. Lippert frequently claimed that he gave audiences what they wanted and was more concerned with profit than artistic merit. Still, he was responsible for some memorable films throughout his long Hollywood career. Appendices list every film that Lippert had any kind of association with. 

Verdict: An engaging and informative trip down B Movie Memory Lane. ***1/2.