KRONOS

Gigantic Kronos strides across the land

KRONOS (1957). Director: Kurt Neumann. Colorized. 

Scientists Leslie Gaskell (Jeff Morrow of The Giant Claw) and Arnold Culver (George O'Hanlon) know something is wrong when a meteor they are following suddenly changes course in space! As the meteor splashes into the sea off the coast of Mexico, project head Dr. Eliot (John Emery) has his mind overtaken by a sinister alien presence. Down in Mexico an enormous monolithic machine -- which Gaskell christens Kronos -- rises from the depths and then begins striding through the land, causing destruction and absorbing the energy of same. As it heads towards an atomic plant, Gaskell has to figure out how to stop it before it -- and others like it (called "accumulators") -- drain the earth dry and obliterate it. 

Jeff Morrow and Barbara Lawrence

Kronos has never been a top favorite with most monster movie fans because Kronos is merely a mindless machine operated by unseen aliens; it doesn't have the "personality" of big beasties or malevolent bugs. Despite its widescreen aspect -- this was filmed in "Regalscope" -- and the fairly decent FX work, the movie screams "third-rate" as compared to more memorable sci fi epics of the period. Still, the premise isn't bad and is pretty original as well. Morrow gives his usual committed performance, and Barbara Lawrence as his girlfriend and project photographer is competent and decorative. Morris Ankrum, Robert Shayne, and Richard Harrison have smaller roles. Kronos was photographed by Karl Struss. The score (by Sawtell and Shefter) was basically re-used the following year for It! The Terror from Beyond Space, a much more entertaining picture. 

Verdict: Somewhat interesting if ultimately unsatisfying sci fi. **1/2. 

THE GIANT CLAW -- IN COLOR!

Mara Corday and Jeff Morrow

THE GIANT CLAW (1957). Director: Fred F. Sears. Colorized. 

"I don't care if that bird comes from outer space or Upper Saddle River, New Jersey!"

Pilot and engineer Mitch MacAfee (Jeff Morrow), mathematician Sally Caldwell (Mara Corday), Lt General Considine (Morris Ankrum), and General Buskirk (Robert Shayne) are understandably alarmed when an unidentified flying object turns out to be a gargantuan bird from outer space that is snatching airliners and military planes out of the sky. Worse, the bird has an anti-matter shield that protects it from missiles, bombs and bullets. As MacAfee and Dr. Noymann (Edgar Barrier) try to come up with a method to get through the monster's shield, the bird snatches trains and autos off of the earth after all planes are grounded. Then Mitch and Sally come across the creature's nest -- and an egg!

The big bird takes Manhattan!

Apparently there was talk of Ray Harryhausen being called in to provide a stop-motion monster for this movie, and one can only imagine how exciting the picture would have been had the producers been able to afford him. Instead they came up with a cheap little puppet that is somewhat creepy but also rather comical, making the movie hard to take seriously. That's a shame, because The Giant Claw has a good and disquieting premise and several decent sequences. 

The big bird protects its offspring

There's the attack on the nest, which also involves a French-Canadian named Pierre (Louise Merrill), who thinks the bird is a horrible supernatural creature and predicts his own death. The climax when Mitch frantically struggles to complete the machine that will dissipate the anti-matter shield as the bird rapidly pursues their plane is quite suspenseful. And then there are those poor scientists who wind up caught in the bird's mouth and get swallowed up like worms. There's lots of stock destruction footage from such as Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (also directed bn Fred Sears) and other monster movies, along with stock music from It Came from Beneath the Sea and other productions. None of this matters because The Giant Claw is a lot of amusing fun. While it may not make the monster look any better, the colorizing process works well for the movie. 

Verdict: A hoot and a holler! ***. 

THIS ISLAND EARTH

Domergue, Reason and Morrow

THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955). Director: Joseph M. Newman. 

Scientist Cal Meachum (Rex Reason) is sent a manual that has instructions for building a device called an "interlociter." Being a genius, Cal is able to construct the machine, and through it is contacted by a mysterious man called Exeter (Jeff Morrow of Legacy of Blood). Exeter makes Cal an offer: to get in a plane he is sending for him and come work for him. His curiosity ignited, Cal soon arrives at Exeter's estate, where he meets fellow physicists Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue of It Came from Beneath the Sea) and Steve Carlson (Russell Johnson of Attack of the Crab Monsters), as well as other scientists who walk around like zombies. There is also another guy named Brack (Lance Fuller), who resembles Exeter. It isn't long before Cal realizes that something about this operation is not on the up and up, and Exeter is actually an alien ... Flown off of the earth, he and Ruth find themselves helplessly embroiled in a war between planets. 

This Island Earth was one of the big sci fi "thrill" pictures of the fifties and all these years later it is still a well-made and very entertaining movie. Morrow is excellent as Exeter, and both Reason and Domergue are effective as the lead characters. The film benefits from the blaring score that Universal-International used for virtually all of its sci fi films in the fifties (the work of various composers) and its FX work is fine for the period and still works well enough by today's standards. There is a certain inevitable quaintness to the film, however. A hilarious moment occurs when Exeter says to Ruth "don't tell me that as a woman you're not curious about our destination?" They're heading for a distant planet light years away but Exeter thinks it's only Ruth's sex that might make her curious? Really?

The scenes that take place on Metaluna, Exeter's planet, employ cartoon animation to good effect. There are also those wonderful, tall, bug-eyed "mutants" that serve as especially ugly security guards and come after poor Ruth at one point. The "science" in the film as it pertains to space travel and other matters is strictly of the "fantastic" variety. 

Verdict: Well,paced, exciting -- a big colorful comic book of a movie. ***. 

LEGACY OF BLOOD

Bad Hair Day: Faith Domergue and John Russell

LEGACY OF BLOOD (aka Blood Legacy aka Will to Die/1971). Director: Carl Monson.

Christopher Dean (John Carradine), the hateful patriarch of the Dean family, has expired, and the relatives are gathered to hear the reading of the will. Dean's four children -- Greg (Jeff Morrow), Veronica (Faith Domergue), Leslie (Brooke Mills) and Johnny (Richard Davalos), the last two of which have incestuous feelings for one another -- will inherit millions but must spend a week in the family mansion before they can get a dime. Naturally, murders begin to occur, with the first, inexplicably, being that of the sheriff (Rodolfo Acosta). 

Faith Domergue

Legacy of Blood certainly has an interesting cast in that we've got sci fi hero Jeff Morrow [This Island Earth], Howard Hughes discovery and genre actress Faith Domergue [It Came from Beneath the Sea and This Island Earth as well], Dick Davalos of East of Eden, and another genre specialist, Merry Anders [The Hypnotic Eye], playing Morrow's wife. Then we've got TV stars John Smith and John Russell playing, respectively, Leslie's husband and a servant-driver named Frank. The movie is reminiscent of Curse of the Living Corpse, and not only because of the business with a severed head on the kitchen table. 

Faith Domergue and Richard Davalos

Domergue easily gives the best and most convincing performance although the others are credible, given the material. Davalos has some good moments but is a little too overwrought at times. Ivy Bethune makes her mark as the maid, Helga, and she has one very good scene with Davalos, but Brooke Mills and Buck Kartalian (as another servant, Igor, who likes to be whipped) are memorable for all the wrong reasons. The picture has some atmosphere and a slight touch of suspense, and there's an electrocution-in-bed sequence that's effective, but there are too many "twists" and the black comedy aspect of the ending doesn't really work. This may hold your attention but there have been better dysfunctional family/maniac movies.  

Verdict: Low-budget horror flick could have used a little more originality but it has its moments. **1/4.