20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH

The little Ymir with Joan Taylor and Frank Puglia

20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957). Director: Nathan Juran. 

An expedition from Venus crash lands on earth off the coast of Sicily and dislodges a life form indigenous to that planet, a tiny lizard-like creature with claws and a tail, and a taste for sulfur. Exposed to our environment, the creature quickly grows larger and larger until it is captured, then escapes from a lab to wreak havoc in Rome. The expedition's only survivor, Colonel Robert Calder (William Hopper), sets out to re-capture or kill the beast, although he hopes it can be studied so that future astronauts can survive Venus' deadly environment. 

The Venusian beast advances ... 

20 Million Miles to Earth is special effects man Ray Harryhausen's show all the way, as the lively and well-animated stop-motion monster is the true star of the movie and gets a great deal of footage. Its battle with a dog and a farmer in a barn is notable, as is its escape from the lab in Rome, its fight with an angry elephant, and its exciting and destructive pathway through Rome. The film makes very good use of such locations as the Coliseum, which figures in the finale. 

The ymir gets real big 

While this doesn't diminish the film's entertainment value very much, one might wish it had a better score, and that William Hopper -- although he was fine as Paul Drake on Perry Mason -- was a bit more interesting and dramatic as the leading man. As the female lead, a budding lady doctor named Marisa, Joan Taylor is a bit more peppery. Perhaps the acting honors should go to Frank Puglia, who plays her zoologist grandfather, and to little Bart Braverman as Pepe, who finds the creature when it is still inside its gelatinous sheath, and gets enough money from Marisa's grandpop to buy himself a cowboy hat. Don Orlando also makes an impression as Pepe's father, Mondello. Thomas Browne Henry is on hand as a major-general. If you missed Arthur Space it's probably because he plays a doctor on the expedition who has a disfiguring disease and dies early on in the story. 

Ymir vs elephant

At one point a scientist explains that the beast from Venus has no heart or lungs, but there is no explanation for why it appears to be clearly breathing with its chest rising and falling. One supposes it has a completely different inner structure. Ray Harryhausen, who has a silent cameo in the film, always referred to the Venusian monster as a "ymir," although it is never referred to that way in the film. I watched the colorized, remastered version of the movie, and I must say it was a treat to see it in that format. 

Verdict: Monster vs Rome with the Army intervening. ***. 

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS

The rhedosaurus surfaces in Manhattan

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953). Director: Eugene Lourie. Colorized. 

When Dr. Tom Nesbitt (Paul Christian, aka Paul Hubschmid of The Day the Sky Exploded) of the Atomic Energy Commission is nearly killed by a revivified dinosaur after an atomic test in the Arctic, he has trouble getting anyone to believe his story. Only the testimony of an independent witness from a shipwreck, as well as several bizarre incidents of death and destruction, alert the authorities -- and paleontologist Professor Elson (Cecil Kellaway) -- that Nesbitt may be on to something. Elson spots the enormous creature in a diving bell, which is gulped by the monster. Then the rhedosaurus, as it is called, pops up in New York Harbor and lays waste to Manhattan ... 

The beast swallows a brave police officer (Lee Phelps) 

A big hit for Warner Brothers, Beast was the first time a prehistoric creature stomped across Manhattan since King Kong twenty years earlier. Ray Harryhausen did the stop-motion effects for the film and they are still excellent, with the rhedosaurus being rather beautiful in its own bizarre way. The success of Beast not only inspired Godzilla but engendered a whole slew of monster/creature movies (Warner Brothers followed up Beast with the first giant insect feature, Them!). The sequence when the beast picks up a police officer (Lee Phelps) in its teeth and swallows him whole -- reportedly excised in theaters but shown on television -- is still quite horrifying and very well-handled. 

Paul Christian and Paula Raymond

The actors in this come in second after the monster, but they are professional and convincing, with Christian a solid lead and some fine support from Paula Raymond as Elson's assistant and Kellaway as the ill-fated doctor. (When you go down in a diving bell to look for a monster, you know it won't end well -- this is another very well-handled sequence.) Others in the cast include Kenneth Tobey [It Came from Beneath the Sea] as Colonel Evans; Ross Elliott as the beast's first Arctic victim; King Donovan as a shrink; James Best as a radar operator; Donald Woods as Captain Jackson; Michael Fox as a doctor who determines that the rhedosaurus carries a plague; Lee Van Cleef as the sharpshooter who brings down the beast with a radioactive isotope at Coney Island; Merv Griffin as an (unseen) radio announcer; among others. David Buttolph has contributed an exciting and highly effective score. As usual, the colorizing process adds a new dimension, although this version is very imperfect and a bit fuzzy at times. Eugene Lourie later directed Gorgo and Behemoth the Sea Monster. 

Verdict: Classic monster movie still remains one of the very best. ***1/2. 

THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD

The goddess Kali vs. Sinbad

THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1973). Director: Gordon Hessler. 

In the mythical kingdom of Marabia, Sinbad (John Phillip Law of Miner's Massacre) encounters the evil wizard Koura (Tom Baker). The disfigured Vizier (Douglas Wilmer), who always wears a mask and is now the ruler of Marabia, warns Sinbad that Koura is out to take over the kingdom any way he can. Accompanied by the Vizier, young Haroun (Kurt Christian), whose father pays Sinbad to take him along, and the beautiful former slave Margiana (Caroline Munro), among others, Sinbad sets sail for the lost world of Lemuria, an island that is all that's left of the mythical sunken continent. There Sinbad hopes to find the third part of a fabulous necklace or tablet with a map on it, as well as a great treasure. But he will face many challenges and monsters ... 

Caroline Munro and John Phillip Law

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, with stop-motion FX work by Ray Harryhausen, may not be in the same league as such Harryhausen masterpieces as 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts, but it is still an exciting, entertaining and very colorful fantasy flick. Law gives a personable and amusing performance as Sinbad, even if he may not be as beloved in the role as Kerwin Mathews. Tom Baker is good as Koura, but he lacks that certain flair and sinister charisma of such actors as, say, Torin Thatcher or Christopher Lee. Munro is decorative and adept enough and Christian displays a certain gauche charm. Takis Emmanuel scores as Achmed, Koura's uncertain assistant. An uncredited Robert Shaw plays the Oracle of All Knowledge who appears, unrecognizable, in a burst of fire. 

homunculus, Takis Emmanuel, Tom Baker,

As usual Harryhausen's creations steal the show: the tiny, winged homunculus that spies on the group for Koura; the wooden lady figurehead who pulls free of the ship and barrels across the deck; the slavering horror of the one-eyed centaur, who either wants Munro for his mate or dinner. The griffin is a slight disappointment, but the six-armed Kali statue who comes to life to dance and then battle Sinbad and his crew, is simply magnificent. Another plus is Miklos Rozsa's excellent score. One of the best scenes has nothing to do with monsters but is a suspenseful bit with Sinbad climbing out of a cavern through a hole in the ceiling as he dangles high in the air and nearly falls to his death. 

Verdict: Highly enjoyable adventure-fantasy film with some great FX work. ***.  

FIRST MEN IN THE MOON

Lionel Jeffries and Edward Judd

FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (1965). Director: Nathan Juran. 

In 1899 a scientist named Cavor (Lionel Jeffries) creates a substance that cancels out gravity, to which purpose he decides to fly in a sphere to the moon. His companions are greedy, bankrupt playwright, Bedford (Edward Judd), and his fiancee, Kate (Martha Hyer) who is only dragged along to save her life when she comes to confront Bedford over his nefarious financial dealings. On the moon they discover an insect-like civilization of "selenites," but while Cavor approaches these creatures with respect and scientific curiosity, Bedford is more like a bull in a china shop, creating dangerous complications. 

a gigantic moon calf attacks

First Men in the Moon is a very loose adaptation of the novel by H. G. Wells. It takes nearly an hour for our trio to actually reach the moon and the first half of the film is full of supposedly comical incident largely centered on Cavor, who is riotously overplayed in very tiresome fashion by a normally dependable Jeffries. Just when you think the film can't get any sillier, our voyagers literally hit the moon and the film becomes much more interesting. A highlight is the appearance of unpleasant and bad-tempered moon calves -- like gigantic caterpillars -- who go on the attack thanks to the stop-motion artistry of Ray Harryhausen. In general the FX of the film are very, very good. 

Jeffries and Hyer inside the moon

There is a sub-text of Cavor's intellectual approach versus the macho meat-headedness of Bedford, but the film, determined to be as stupid as possible, sort of throws this away, dismissing the destruction of an entire civilization with a quip at the end. (Bedford was just as unlikable in Wells' novel as he is in the film). Judd plays his distasteful character adroitly, Hyer is fine as the throwaway gal who never appeared in the book, and the score -- especially the stunning theme music -- by Laurie Johnson is exceptional. Wilkie Cooper's widescreen cinematography is another plus. The story is bookended by a modern-day sequence with sixties astronauts arriving on the moon only to find a Union Jack implanted in the ground! Peter Finch has a cameo as a process server. 

Verdict: The moon sequences are generally quite well done, but the rest is hash. **3.4, 

MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961)

Giant Crab attack!

MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961). Director: Cy Endfield. 

Near the end of the Civil War, a group of Union soldiers, one rebel, and a war correspondent wind up in a balloon that gets caught in a major storm and dumps them on a large deserted island. On this mysterious island the men -- including Captain Harding (Michael Craig), young Herbert (Michael Callan), Sgt. Pencroft (Percy Herbert), Cpl. Neb Nugent (Dan Jackson) and Gideon Spilitt (Gary Merrill) -- encounter giant animals such as crabs and bees, and discover an unseen benefactor who turns out to be the infamous Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom). Jules Verne's novel has undergone a great many changes -- including the addition of the outsized monsters -- but it was a partial sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. 

Michael Craig and Michael Callan

The big animals, of course, give FX wizard Ray Harryhausen a chance to exploit his stop-motion expertise, and we have very fluid crabs, bees, a big kind of chicken, and a bad-tempered squid with beady eyes. And then there's that outstanding score by Bernard Herrmann who brings every sequence vividly to life with his exciting music. Along with the aforementioned actors we have two shipwrecked ladies played ably by Beth Rogan and Joan Greenwood. Craig makes a handsome and authoritative captain, Merrill is amusing and adept as the newspaperman, and the others are all generally on target as well. 

Verdict: Very entertaining and colorful action-fantasy film. ***. 

EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS

Curtis, Marlowe, Taylor and Blake 

EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS (1956). Director: Fred F. Sears. NOTE: This is the colorized version.

"When an armed and threatening power lands at the steps of our capital, we don't greet them with tea and cookies!" -- Adm . Enright

Scientist Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) and his wife, Carol (Joan Taylor of 20 Million Miles to Earth), encounter a flying saucer while driving to his office at Operation: Shyhook, where rockets are being blown out of the sky. Russ can't figure out how the aliens are communicating with him, so he misses a message about their arriving at the base. Stupidly, armed forces start firing at the aliens when they land, but it wouldn't have made much difference, as these representatives of a dying universe are here to take the earth for themselves no matter what. Now it's up to Russ to come up with a weapon that can bring the multitude of saucers crashing down before they can destroy Washington, D.C. and before their disintegrator beams can destroy him and the weapons.

Russ and Carol enter the main saucer

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers is a fun if minor sci fi movie distinguished by some very good Ray Harryhausen effects. Though the FX genius couldn't add too much personality to these saucers as he could living animals, the UFOs still perform quite well, and the other effects are generally okay considering the very low budget -- an entry foyer into one of the spaceships actually rattles as the characters step into it. The sound effects are unnerving and creepy, however. 

Morris Ankrum

Marlowe and Taylor offer professional performances, and the latter is able to summon up the necessary emotion when required. Morris Ankrum [Beginning of the End] is notable as Carol's father, who comes to a bad end, and there are also appearances by Thomas Browne Henry as an Admiral who's itching to fight the nasty aliens; Donald Curtis as a Major who tries to assist Russ and his wife; Harry Lauter as a technician working with Russ; and Larry J. Blake as an ill-fated motorcycle cop. Curtis and Lauter were both in Harryhuasen's It Came from Beneath the Sea. 

The saucers invade Washington, D.C.!

For me the biggest problem with the movie is that not one of the many characters ever register the slightest awe or sense of wonder at the fact that aliens from a faraway world even exist, let alone that they've come to earth. (This was also a problem with the much later alien invasion movie Independence Day). You'd think this sort of thing happened every day. Russ and Carol at least seem a bit amazed and frightened when they first spot the saucer, but that aspect is quickly jettisoned. The whole movie is on the intellectual level of a cliffhanger serial along the lines of King of the Rocket Men. Just as Universal used the same music cues in its sci fi movies over and over again, Columbia studios did the same thing in its sci fi films, so the score for this is very familiar. Fred F. Sears' direction is totally routine.

Verdict: Not quite a fifties sci fi classic but entertaining on its own terms. **3/4. 

IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA

An absolutely humongous octopus

IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955). Director: Robert Gordon. NOTE: This is a review of the colorized version. 

Cmdr. Pete Mathews (Ken Tobey) and the crew of his atomic submarine have a strange encounter with what turns out to be an unknown marine animal. Dr. John Carter (Donald Curtis) and Professor Lesley Joyce (Faith Domergue of Cult of the Cobra) are called in by the Navy to find out what they can about this beast. Said beast is a stupendously big octopus that has become radioactive from atomic testing, and risen from the Mindanao Deep in search of food. Its normal food supply has been cut off because the fish have built-in Geiger counters that warn them off. The trio institute a search for the monster, but after one scary encounter on the beach, it attacks San Francisco in all its glory. Can even their bombs put paid to the beast?

Octopus versus Golden Gate

It Came from Beneath the Sea has one great selling point, and that's the monster, which is brought vividly to life by the stop-motion artistry of Ray Harryhausen -- even the tentacles of the monster seem to have a sentience of their own, and the shots of those huge appendages hovering over the streets of San Francisco and sweeping away highly unfortunate humans are rather startling and horrifying, as are the shots of the creature trying to pull itself out of the bay. The monster also has an encounter with the Golden Gate Bridge, with the bridge being the loser, as well as a tramp steamer that loses nearly all hands. 

Beach confab: Tobey, Domergue, Curtis

A problem with the movie is that no one ever expresses any sheer awe at the mere existence of this gargantuan animal who can cause havoc and massive death on the shore without even leaving the water. The only fear our heroes display is during the aforementioned scary beach encounter in which a sheriff (Harry Lauter) comes to a bad end. Robert Gordon's direction of the non-monster sequences is flat and prosaic, with no real attempt to create suspense or tension. The romance worked up between Tobey and Domergue is never convincing, and is even comical at times, with the former's character being so aggressive in some instances that his actions border on harassment. 

Domergue, Tobey and Harry Lauter

On the other hand, the movie has a decided feminist slant, with Dr. Carter trying to make the commander understand "the new breed of woman" who doesn't need or like to be coddled or condescended to. The performances of the three leads are competent but they, including the sexy Domergue, can't make much of an impression next to that hungry, roaring octopus. Many of the supporting roles are filled by people who don't even appear to be actors, but may instead be sailors or officials doing double-duty. NOTE: To read more about this and other movies like it, see Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: A lively monster and some great Harryhausen effects keep this flick afloat. ***.