FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON

The huge cast of Five Weeks in a Balloon

FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON (1962). Produced and directed by Irwin Allen. 

Balloonist Fergusson (Cedric Hardwicke) wants to explore Africa by air but also has a deeper concern: beating a group of slave traders to a certain uncharted territory so that it can be claimed for England instead of by them. The balloon eventually fills up with a riot of motley individuals: the fussy Sir Vining (Richard Haydn at his fussiest); Fergusson's handsome assistant Jacques (Fabian), who handles the engine; American ne'er-do-well reporter Donald O'Shay (a miscast Red Buttons); rescued slave, Makia (Barbara Luna); another rescued slave, Susan (Barbara Eden); and even the slave trader himself Ahmed (Peter Lorre). There are way too many people on this balloon!

Buttons, Luna, Fabian

Five Weeks in a Balloon is the second film version of Jules Verne's first novel of the same name. Flight of the Lost Balloon, made the previous year, is a cheaper copy with very different plot points. Released by 20th Century-Fox in CinemaScope, Five Weeks has much better production values. Unfortunately this adaptation is just as loose and silly. After The Brothers Four warble the title tune over the credits, Fabian reprises it twice -- I can't get the damn thing out of my head. It is slightly better than the title tune for Flight of the Lost Balloon. Instead of a drunken fat cannibal queen as in Flight, this version offers an equally fat and drunken sultan. There's a sandstorm that doesn't really amount to much, a few wild animals, minor romances, and a fairly exciting climax in the forbidden city of Timbuktu. 

Chester aka Duchess: a "simian sot!"

Fabian [Bus Stop] actually manages to give a decent performance, although there is absolutely nothing of the 19th century about him, especially his hair style. I had trouble understanding a lot of Hardwick's mushy speech. Hadyn seems to essentially be playing the same part he played in The Lost World and many other films. Eden and Luna are reasonably competent and decorative. Peter Lorre is too cute by far for a rather loathsome and conscienceless slave trader. The slave trade is condemned but not very forcefully and black natives are never mentioned. Henry Daniell shows up briefly as a Sheik, and Herbert Marshall is the prime minister. Chester the Chimp plays the Duchess, who likes her liquor. "A simian sot," Hadyn declares her. Score by Paul Sawtell and photographed by Winton Hoch. 

Verdict: The surplus of silliness works against it. You keep hoping some dinosaurs will show up to enliven things! **1/4. 

THE BLACK SCORPION

The voracious black scorpion

THE BLACK SCORPION (1957). Director: Edward Ludwig. Colorized. 

The eruption of a volcano in Mexico causes enough loss of life, but things are made much worse by the emergence of gigantic man-eating scorpions from suspended animation. Rancher Teresa Alvarez (Mara Corday of Naked Gun) and geologists named Hank (Richard Denning of Assignment Redhead) and Artur (Carlos Rivas of Machete) help Dr. Velazco (Carlos Muzquiz) and the military wipe out the monsters, but one gargantuan scorpion -- a black scorpion -- survives to wipe out any others and then advances on heavily populated Mexico City. 

The Black Scorpion downs a copter!

The Black Scorpion is one of the zestier -- and grimmer -- giant bug features that came out in the wake of Them! Stop-motion animation work by Willis O'Brien of King Kong fame and Pete  Peterson helps create some very lively, scuttling horrors to give the creeps to the audience, and the close-ups of the salivating monstrosities with their movable fangs are also unnerving, especially when accompanied by the rattling, scary sound FX. One scene in particular -- an attack on a train when the giant pincers of the scorpions pick out hapless, screeching passengers to devour and tear apart -- is a vision of hell. 

Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Richard Denning

The colorizing process makes the movie seem even more intense and horrifying, although it can't compensate for the fact that some of the sequences are underlit. Other highlights of the film include a tense business with a scorpion grabbing hold of a cable and nearly pulling a crane down into an abyss, and the exploration of said abyss with its scorpions, giant worms and so on, An unintentionally comical moment occurs when Dr. Velazco says that the monsters "are somewhat slow and lethargic," which scene after scene proves is definitely not the case! The Black Scorpion has a standard B movie cast and all are perfectly okay even if they offer nothing more than what is indicated in the script. Paul Sawtell offers an eerie and effective score.

Verdict: Absorbing monster movie with more than decent FX work. ***. 

THE LOST WORLD

Yehudi, the fire monster, pops in for supper

THE LOST WORLD (1960). Produced and directed by Irwin Allen. 

"This is the greatest moment of your lives." -- Professor Challenger. 

The peppery Professor Challenger (Claude Rains) insists that he saw dinosaurs on a South American plateau from the air and wants to mount an expedition right away. Against his better wishes and despite skepticism, he assembles a team consisting of explorer Lord Roxton (Michael Rennie), reporter Ed Ames (David Hedison), the doubting and persnickety Professor Summerlee (Richard Haydn), and late arrivals Jennifer Holmes (Jill St. John ) and her brother David (Ray Stricklyn). Rounding out the motley crew are pilot Manual (Fernando Lamas) and his pal and helpmate, Costa (Jay Novello). The group do find the expected dinosaurs, as well as a race of decidedly unfriendly cannibals. It's not only a question of how they will get off the plateau but which will kill them first -- the monsters or the natives?

The explorers get their first look at a dinosaur

Very loosely based on the novel of the same name by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the movie is fun and colorful as long as you don't take it too seriously. The monsters are genuine lizards who are placed into process shots of varying effectiveness with the actors -- there's a marvelous scene with a monster's huge tail nearly sweeping Hedison and St. John off of a cliff as two dinosaurs have a battle nearby. The climax, greatly embellished and extended from Doyle's novel, features a cavern with a giant skeleton, angry pursuing natives, and a fire monster that makes a tasty snack out of poor Costa. It's ironic that he is so terrified of being sacrificed to cannibals but winds up eaten by a monster instead. 

Hedison, Stricklyn, St. John

Novello is probably the best actor in the bunch aside from Rains, who appears to be having fun if nothing else. The others all perform with a certain stalwart dignity, although many critics noted that St. John in her "shocking pink knee boots" seems out of her element. The film is well photographed in CinemaScope and Technicolor by Winton C. Hoch, and the score by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter is quite effective. 

Verdict: The biggest star is the Fire Monster. ***. 

SON OF DR. JEKYLL

SON OF DR. JEKYLL (1951). Director: Seymour Friedman. 

Edward Jekyll (Louis Hayward) discovers that he is the son of the notorious Dr. Jekyll of Jekyll/Hyde notoriety. He finds his father's note books and for reasons that are never explained, decides to continue his experiments, even down to drinking the dangerous formula. (Apparently brains don't run in the Jekyll family.) Meanwhile Dr. Lanyon (Alexander Knox), a friend of the late Dr. Jekyll, hovers about looking ominous. Although Edward does briefly turn into Mr. Hyde, this is less a horror film than a mystery. When the secret is revealed, it occurs to the viewer that everything could have been avoided if only a certain party hadn't stupidly told Edward who he really was. In any case, a somewhat similar premise was used for the superior Daughter of Dr. Jekyll six years later; although Son itself does hold the attention, has atmosphere, and is not without entertainment value. Well-acted by Hayward and the rest of the cast, which includes Paul Cavanagh [Bride of the Gorilla] as an inspector. Paul Sawtell contributed a nice score. 

Verdict: Has its moments but Daughter is more fun. **1/2.