FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE

The Fire Maidens go into their dance

FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE (1956). Written and directed by Cy Roth. Colorized version. 

A space ship heads for the 13th moon of Jupiter and discovers a hidden city called New Atlantis -- it's like a medieval castle inside -- presided over by an old man named Prasus (Owen Berry), who is the figurative father of a bevy of dancing beauties. Outside New Atlantis a tall dark humanoid creature -- a skinny guy dressed in black and wearing a kind of voodoo mask -- stalks anyone who dares to step outside the enclave. Astronauts led by Luthor Blair (Anthony Dexter) enter the city and aren't quite certain that the inhabitants are friendly, especially when they are put into a drugged sleep via Prasus' refreshments ...

The monster goes after the maidens as astronauts watch

Prasus does not offer any explanations for the weird goings-on in Fire Maidens. We never learn how the occupants of doomed Atlantis managed to get from Earth all the way to Jupiter. Where are the parents of all the young ladies? Who or what exactly is "the creature" that roams about outside? The whole thing is like something out of an old comic book or cliffhanger serial, only even more illogical. The ladies start dancing to the strains of Borodin at the drop of a hat. Kim Parker of Fiend Without a Face is one of the fire maidens. 

Verdict: The only space babes movie which is worse is the execrable Queen of Outer Space. **1/4. 

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. ***.  

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. 

RESURRECTION (2022)

Rebecca Hall

RESURRECTION (2022). Written and directed by Andrew Semans.

Margaret (Rebecca Hall) has a daughter, Abbie (Grace Kaufman), who's just about to turn eighteen. Margaret reencounters a man, David (Tim Roth), with whom she had an abusive relationship many years before, and is afraid he might be out to harm her or her daughter. Apparently David murdered their baby boy, Ben, and Margaret let him get away with it. However, things take a surreal turn when she tells a colleague, Gwen (Angela Wong Carbone), that David ate the baby and Ben is still alive inside him. Huh? 

Carrying a baby? Tim Roth

Obviously Resurrection can not be taken literally, and the slender characterizations further distance the viewer from what's happening on screen. Resurrection might have worked better as a half-hour short, but stretched out to nearly two hours it doesn't work at all, although it begins well with an initially intriguing premise. However, the whole movie is really just an acting exercise for Hall and Roth, both of whom are excellent (although in a long monologue talking about David, Hall seems to be merely acting in the technical sense rather than feeling the role). You can take this film as an abstract study of the effects of abuse and control, or of a woman who is slowly losing her mind, or preferably, not take it at all. I choose the latter. Rebecca Hall was the executive producer. While I can see what attracted her to the project -- it's a starring role with juicy acting prospects -- she should still choose her projects with more care in the future. 

Verdict: At least I didn't have to pay to see this. Too weird for its own good. ** for the acting and cinematography. 

HOLLYWOOD PRESENTS JULES VERNE

HOLLYWOOD PRESENTS JULES VERNE: The Father of Science Fiction On Screen. Brian Taves. University Press of Kentucky; 2015.

Jules Verne, the Father of Science Fiction, created concepts and imaginative story ideas that would only naturally be adapted for movies. Hollywood Presents Jules Verne looks at the author's output and its adaptations, always with an eye on how closely the films hew to the spirit if not the letter of Verne, although Taves does discuss changes that were made in the journey from published work to motion picture. In this highly detailed work, Taves not only looks at famous adaptations, such as Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Mysterious Island, but also lesser-known films, TV shows, documentaries on Verne, cartoons, and feature-length animated movies. Taves discusses films as diverse as the dreadful Where Time Began ("a very satisfactory although uneven effort") and Journey 2: Mysterious Island ("a variety of fresh interpretations of the Vernian world"), and sometimes cuts a mediocre film some slack simply because it allegedly embodies the spirit of Verne. Whether the likes of Journey 2 will actually get its viewers to read Verne is debatable, but this is a good and rewarding book nevetheless. NOTE: William Schoell is the author of Remarkable Journeys: The Story of Jules Verne.

Verdict: Well-done, illustrated tome on Verne's work and its adaptations to film. ***1/2.

SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW

SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004). Director/writer: Kerry Conran.

This is an unfortunate attempt to recreate the excitement and craziness of the old Republic serials with some high-tech effects and computer imagery (so much of it that the movie almost resembles a cartoon). The movie takes place not in the future but circa World War Two, and features a battle between the heroic Sky Captain (Jude Law), a Blackhawk-type mercenary, and the evil Dr. Totenkopf, who attacks New York City with giant robots, and forces scientists to create strange animals (including, inexplicably, an elephant shrunken to the size of a stuffed toy). Totenkopf's plan is to build a space ark that will take his animals off into the cosmos while the Earth itself is vaporized. Helping Sky Captain is the intrepid reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and – in what amounts to a bit – female pilot Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie). Giovanni Ribisi is the captain's pal and associate Dex, who is kidnapped at one point. Although there are some fine FX and interesting scenic design and a few exciting moments (including the climax on the space ark) Sky Captain is never as entertaining as any of those old Republic serials, and both continuity and story are stilted, to say the least. Law is better in the heroic part than one would imagine, and Paltrow is also good as his partner-in-peril. The tongue-in-cheek script has some amusing moments, but after awhile its cliches become wearisome. In an improbable bit of stunt casting “Sir Laurence Olivier” is billed as Dr. Totenkopf, although the character turns out to be dead and is only seen as a withered corpse. Did the producers use Lord Olivier's voice? Who cares? Nothing could make this production particularly memorable.

Verdict: As expected, there were no sequels. *1/2.

FANTASTIC VOYAGE

The Proteus in a capillary

FANTASTIC VOYAGE (1966). Director: Richard Fleischer.  

After an important scientist is attacked and nearly killed by "the other side," his bodyguard, Grant (Stephen Boyd), is called in to the HQ of CMDF (Combined Miniature Deterrent Forces). There he learns to his horror that an operation on the scientist's brain must be performed from the inside. That's right -- the entire medical team, along with a queasy Grant, will be shrunk to microscopic size, inserted into a blood vessel, and sent via submarine, the Proteus, on a "fantastic voyage" to save the man's life. But is it possible the lead surgeon, Dr. Duval (Arthur Kennedy of Impulse), is a traitor? Or is it one of the others -- the pilot, Owens (William Redfield), Dr. Michaels (Donald Pleasence of Circus of Horrors), or Duval's shapely assistant, Cora (Raquel Welch)? 

Pleasence, Kennedy, Boyd, Welch

With its totally absurd premise and situations -- surely the scientist's brain could be operated on in the normal way? -- one has to suspend disbelief from start to finish when it comes to Fantastic Voyage. Once you accept that, you're in for an unparalleled thrill ride, with one startling emergency situation after another: a tear in a vessel's tissue causes a whirlpool that nearly shakes the sub apart; Grant is nearly lost in a wind-blown lung cavity; a noise in the operating theater when the Proteus must proceed through the inner ear causes anti-bodies to attack Cora; and so on. The special effects for the movie, combined with impressive and well-dressed sets, done in the days before CGI, still hold up all of these years later. The film is a visual knock-out -- especially in widescreen -- and although the pace is on the deliberate side, the suspense and tension is continuously sustained.

A tense moment on board the Proteus

On the debit side, all of the characters are one-dimensional, although in general the acting is solid. Welch never seems quite real, however, almost like a walking Barbie doll. Monitoring the sub via a tiny radioactive particle are Edmond O'Brien and Arthur O'Connell as General Carter and Colonel Reid, respectively. These two manage to get across the stress they are undergoing while the actors on the Proteus may, at times, seem a little too cool under pressure. But none of that really matters: Fantastic Voyage is a fun and eye-popping ride and one of the most original movies ever made. 

Verdict: Excellent sci-fi/fantasy -- a remake is not in order. ***1/2. 

BILL AND COO

 

BILL AND COO (1948). Director: Dean Reisner.

A monstrous winged creature swoops down to earth periodically to bring death and terror to earth's inhabitants. No, it isn't the monster bird of The Giant Claw, but rather a big black crow known as "the Black Menace." In the town of Chirpendale, a cabbie named Bill loves a pretty bird named Coo and life might be idyllic for them and their neighbors were it not for the Black Menace. In this oddball one-of-a-kind movie all of the characters are played by actual birds -- some wearing little outfits -- on a tiny set. Once the novelty wears off -- after about five minutes -- what's left is a vaguely "cute" but generally tedious time-waster that might amuse very young children -- or not. The problem is that compared to dogs, cats, and chimps, the birds in this don't have a hell of a lot of personality. It gets points for originality, certainly. But it doesn't compare favorable to such all-animal (and animatronics) movies like Babe.

Verdict: For bird lovers -- or bird-brains -- only. **.

CAPTAIN SINDBAD

Guy Williams as Sindbad

CAPTAIN SINDBAD (1963). Director: Byron Haskins. 

Captain Sindbad (Guy Williams) returns to Baristan from a long ocean voyage and discovers that the kingdom has been taken over by the vile dictator, El Kerim (Pedro Armendariz). El Kerim is invulnerable to death and injury because his heart is hidden away in a high tower inside a swamp filled with deadly creatures. As El Kerim prepares to put Sindbad's beloved Princess Jana (Heidi Bruhl) to death for refusing to marry him, Sindbad and his men attempt to get through the swamp and destroy his large beating heart. But with the unwilling aid of magician Gagol (Abraham Sofaer), El Kerim is not going to make it easy for him ... 

Amendariz and Bruhl

This highly entertaining, fast-paced fantasy film lacks only one thing, some wonderful Ray Harryhausen effects. But you almost don't miss them because this picture has the usual MGM gloss complete with gorgeous technicolor. The production makes the most of that with some stunning art direction and beautiful costuming that is borderline garish but effective. Besides that the film is well-directed by Byron Haskin, who also helmed The War of the Worlds. You do miss the Harryhausen effects when a many-headed hydra shows up late in the picture. Although it is well-designed, it simply can't compare to the stop-motion hydra crafted by Harryhausen in the same year's Jason and the Argonauts. Almost as fake are a bunch of gators who sort of glide over the ground instead of actually walking.

dueling swords

One of the movie's best scenes takes place in an arena, when Sindbad must face a gigantic but invisible creature that leaves huge footprints in the ground -- this has real suspense and excitement. The dangerous trek through the swamp when Sindbad and his men face a dozen perils is also notable, as is the climax in the tower and a climactic sword fight between Sindbad and El Kerim. Williams is heroic enough as Sindbad, Amendariz makes an excellent villain, Bruhl is an attractive and competent heroine, and we also have Abraham Sofaer as the riotous Gagol, Henry Brandon as El Kerim's good right hand, Bernie Hamilton as a mute sailor, and others. The best one can say of Michel Michelet's musical score -- Bernard Herrmann is sorely missed -- is that it is highly derivative. For a kid's film, the movie is pretty intense at times.

Verdict: MGM presents a colorful and even glamorous fantasy picture. ***. 

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, 

ELEVATION Stephen King

ELEVATION. Stephen King. Scribner; 2018.

In this interesting if unremarkable novella by King -- a homage to Richard Matheson (to whom the book is dedicated) in general and his novel The Shrinking Man in particular -- hero Scott Carey (the name of the hero of Matheson's novel) discovers something very strange is happening to him. According to his scale he is losing weight rapidly, but his appearance isn't changing at all. His doctor is utterly baffled, but Carey is afraid that sooner or later his complete lack of mass -- despite what he looks like, a pot-bellied middle-aged man -- will send him soaring into the heavens. Carey's neighbors are a lesbian couple who are trying to run a restaurant in King's fictional Castle Rock but encountering difficulties due to prejudice. It's not just that they're a gay couple but that they're married. Carey makes it his business to help them, even though one of the women comes off like a stereotypical man-hater with a chip on her shoulder. In this testament to how friendship can overcome all barriers, the two women eventually become concerned friends of Carey's.

While the gay aspects of the book, however well-meaning (especially after King's nasty depiction of a gay male couple in Needful Things), are a bit awkward, his heart seems to be in the right place. The book is as well-written as anything by King, but some readers might be a little put off by the ending, which is somewhat moving but also a little comical and inexplicable. It's a good, fast read, but by no means a King classic.

Verdict: Worth an hour of your time if you don't expect too much. **3/4. 

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES

Linda Stirling and Dennis Moore

THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES (15 chapter Republic serial/1945). Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennett and Fred C. Brannon.

A man from  Mars (Ray Barcroft), the first wave of an invasion force and who calls himself the "Purple Monster," kills Dr. Layton (James Craven) and periodically takes over his body to use in his nefarious schemes. (Apparently his animating the corpse of Dr. Layton also prevents obvious decomposition.) Unaware that her uncle is actually a Martian invader, Layton's niece Sheila (Linda Stirling) and her associate, Craig (Dennis Moore), an insurance investigator, find themselves persistently in deadly conflict with the Purple Monster and a variety of earth gangsters headed by a man named Garrett (Bud Geary).

Dennis Moore about to be incinerated

The Monster first wants the rocket ship invented by Layton, then goes after a deadly "annihilator," as well as a Dimensional Magnet and a Stabilizer. Naturally Craig and Sheila do their best to keep these weapons out of the hands of the Monster and his men. At one point the Monster brings in a female Martian named Marcia (Mary Moore), who kills and takes over the body of poor Helen (Rosemonde James), a scientist's assistant who's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sheila and the Martian witch have a "cat fight" on top of a cliff that doesn't go well for Marcia in chapter twelve. The Monster reports to the Emperor of Mars (John Davidson), who isn't certain that Barcroft is the right man for the job.

James Craven and Dennis Moore

The Purple Monster Strikes is full of lively fight scenes and a variety of cliffhangers. Sheila is almost shot into space inside a rocket in chapter one. Craig nearly falls off a ladder between two buildings when it totters and crashes into a wall in chapter two. There is a watery death trap for Sheila in chapter six and Craig is nearly squashed by a falling auto hanging on an overhead pulley in chapter eight. A moving wall pushes Craig towards bars lined with spikes in chapter ten. Dennis Moore is swell as Craig and has one of the best voices of any leading man. Stirling is decorative and reasonably adept as well. Craven and Barcroft are enthusiastic supporting players. There is no scene showing Sheila's remorse when she learns that her uncle has been dead all this time! Craven played a scientist who forms an alliance with an invading Martian in the later Flying Disc Man from Mars.

Verdict: Crazy but lots of action and fun. ***. 

JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET

Carl Ottosen and John Agar

JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET (1961). Producer/Director: Sidney Pink. 

In the year 2001 humankind has solved all of its problems and there is no war or fear of annihilation; the United Nations is the "sole governing body" of the planet. Spaceship Explorer 12, which has an international, if all-male, team of astronauts, is sent on a mission to explore Uranus, the seventh planet of our solar system. Landing on Uranus, the men expect to find a frozen wasteland, but instead they see lush forest land -- and babes! Is this yet another "Space Babes on the Moon" type fantasy a la Missile to the Moon? Not exactly. 

Just what the captain expects to find on Uranus

We learn early on that some kind of unseen presence has entered the minds of the astronauts and gleaned all of their secrets --  their hopes and dreams as well as their fears and nightmares. Lover boy and captain Don Graham (John Agar) runs into some of the beautiful women he knew back home, including Greta (Greta Thyssen). Commander Eric (Carl Ottosen) encounters the one woman he ever loved and lost years ago, Ingrid (Ann Smyrner). Svend (Louis Miehe-Renard) was always scared of rats, so he faces a giant materialization of a kind of rodent-monster. Meanwhile the evil presence that has overtaken Uranus -- a big brain with a glowing eye -- has taken up residence in frigid caverns below the surface where the team will have to try and destroy it. The ladies, of course, are just manifestations of this same creature, but it takes the guys awhile to realize this, and the Commander never does, wanting to bring the malevolent presence back to earth in the form of Ingrid!

pathetic rodent-monster

Journey to the Seventh Planet is a Danish science-fiction film released in the U.S. after some fiddling by AIP. When the nasty alien conjures up a giant arachnid to bedevil the men, the footage is actually from Bert I. Gordon's Earth vs the Spider, albeit tinted. The film's other monster is a pathetic, one-eyed clawed alleged rodent monster that is brought to life by fifth-rate stop-motion animation. Strangely, in the early sections as the men wander around wondering what on Uranus is going on, the film comes off like a Twilight Zone episode, and then seems more like early Star Trek, with similar shenanigans (aliens casting illusions and so on) and cheap production values. Despite its many flaws, Seventh Planet does work up a bit of suspense and holds the attention, although it wears out its welcome after about an hour with more than a quarter hour to go. The music is effective and there's a pleasant enough theme song at the end. 

Verdict: Watchable enough if not that memorable. **1/2.                       

THE MASKS: TWILIGHT ZONE

Robert Keith

THE TWILIGHT ZONE Season Five, Episode twenty-five. The Masks (1964). Written by Rod Serling. Directed by Ida Lupino. 

Although "The Masks," written by Rod Serling, is hardly one of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone, it does have several points of interest. The plot has to do with a wealthy and grumpy man named Jason Foster (Robert Keith) who is on his death bed. His greedy, unloving relatives -- daughter Emily (Virginia Gregg), her husband Wilfred (Milton Selzer) and their adult children Paula (Brooke Hayward) and Wilfred Jr. (Alan Sues) -- arrive in Jason's New Orleans mansion during Mardi Gras, and he insists that all four of them put on and wear these grotesque masks until midnight -- or they will be cut out of the will. 

Brooke Hayward as the vain Paula

Okay, let's assume that this will and Jason's edict is enforceable, which is extremely unlikely, or that a dying man would even have time to change his will in the first place, I have always had other problems with this episode. Even an eight-year-old will realize that when the relatives take off their masks at midnight, their faces will be as hideous as the masks. But do these people, as greedy and frivolous as they may be, really deserve permanent disfigurement? They aren't child murderers, for heaven's sake. And one has to wonder exactly what kind of father Jason was in the first place, as he seems distinctly unpleasant from the beginning (admittedly, people on their death beds will probably not be happy campers, but still ... ) One can't imagine any kind of loving father wanting to impose such a cruel fate on his own daughter and grandchildren; disinheriting them would have been more than enough. Serling's teleplay lacks any kind of final twist that would give the nasty old fart his due. 

The masks come off at midnight

Still, whatever its obvious flaws, The Masks features excellent ensemble acting from the entire cast. Keith was a fine actor who never quite became famous but graced many productions with his talent, as did Virginia Gregg and Milton Selzer. Although I was never a particular fan of Alan Sues of Laugh-In, in this he is nearly unrecognizable and gives a very good account of himself. Brooke Hayward was the daughter of the great Margaret Sullavan and proves that she inherited a lot of her mother's ability. There are people who think this is one of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone, but with its stereotypes and lopsided morality I would have to rank it as a well-acted failure. As she does with this episode, Ida Lupino generally proved a better director of TV episodes than she did of feature films. 

Verdict: Stay away from awful old men with money. **1/4. 

ATLANTIS THE LOST CONTINENT

Joyce Taylor and Sal Ponti (Anthony Hall) 

ATLANTIS THE LOST CONTINENT (1961). Produced and directed by George Pal. 

Greek fisherman Demetrios (Sal Ponti, here billed as "Anthony Hall") finds a woman floating in the sea and discovers she is supposedly Princess Antillia (Joyce Taylor) of Atlantis. Demetrios and his father, Petros (Wolfe Barzell), think she must be out of her head, but she eventually importunes Demetrios to set sail beyond the Pillars of Hercules and on to Atlantis. There Demetrios thinks he will be showered with riches and marry Antillia, but instead -- unbeknownst to the princess -- he winds up a slave, as do all foreigners. Demetrios can win his freedom if he survives the Ordeal of Fire and Water, but even if he does he will have to contend with evil Zaren (John Dall), the true power behind the throne, who wants to wage war on other countries with his laser canon. Then there's that pesky volcano that keeps trembling in the background ... 

Atlantis sinks!

I first saw Atlantis the Lost Continent when I was a kid, loved it, have seen it several times since, and still get a kick out of it every time I watch it. The film has been utterly excoriated in many circles as the worst film George Pal ever made, which I personally find ridiculous. The film is fun, colorful, entertaining, well-acted by the leads (neither Taylor or Ponti may ever have been tapped to do Shakespeare, but they are perfect for this picture) and most of the supporting cast, the FX work is quite good for the time, and there's a bang-up finish involving the volcano and that runaway laser cannon. Not to mention the exciting Ordeal of Fire and Water in which Demetrios must face a bull of a man in a pit in an arena which is first full of fire and then flooded with water. 

 John Dall and Frank DeKova

John Dall (in his last film, only appearing on Perry Mason thereafter) practically steals the movie as Zaran, with the man's smiles being even more lethal than his sneers, his every utterance a treacherous double entendre. Berry (sic) Kroeger is nastiness personified as the surgeon who turns men into animal-human hybrids, and Jay Novello [Soldiers of Fortune] once again exhibits his amazing versatility as the Greek slave, Xandros, who is slowly metamorphosing into a bull. However, Frank DeKova, who plays Sonoy, the astrologer, sounds about as "Atlantean" as Fanny Brice! Edward Platt is given the thankless role of the pious priest, Azor, another in a long line of characters who point out the evils of Paganism while never acknowledging that Christianity has its own set of  negative aspects. William Smith plays the Captain of the Guard but isn't given enough time or close-ups to really register. Paul Frees not only does the narration but dubbed three of the actors. 

Berry Kroeger sizes up Sal Ponti

MGM didn't give George Pal a huge budget, so there's some stock footage and short cuts in the movie, but that's not exactly an unusual avenue to take. I love the beast men attacking Berry Kroeger, the priest taking care of Zaren, the disintegrater beam that atomizes some people and merely skeletonizes others, the metal submarine that sneaks up on the couple in their boat, the impressive destruction of Atlantis, Demetrios flinging mud at the princess, and the princess telling off Zaren, who has stolen power from her father: "You would think you wore his crown!" Say what you will, for me this is a neat picture.

Verdict: A hoot! ***. 

FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE

The "fire maidens" try to dance 

FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE (1956). Written and directed by Cy Roth. 

A British-American team of astronauts head for the 13th moon of Jupiter, which they feel has an atmosphere similar to Earth's and may even hold  human life. It sure does! An old man and a bevy of beauties occupy a domicile inside an enclosure, outside of which a tall, hideous monster lurks trying to get in. Luther Blair (Anthony Dexter), who heads the expedition, and Captain Larson (Paul Carpenter) manage to meet up with the elderly Prasus (Owen Berry), who claims all of the young ladies are his daughters and that they somehow managed to make it all the way from the lost continent of Atlantis on Earth to the 13th moon of Jupiter! There is no talk of spaceships, the ladies' mothers, exactly what happened to Atlantis, who or what the dark humanoid creature roaming outside may be, or much of anything aside from the fact that Prasus wants "New Atlantis" to be repopulated. 

the crew prepare to land

Fire Maidens of Outer Space operates on the level of a child's comic book from years ago with its severe lapses in both continuity and logic. Oddly, it also has the quality of a fairy tale, and the monster is fairly creepy in long shot. Harry Fowler and Sidney Tafler are the other members of the crew -- who register absolutely no surprise or even much interest when they hear a man's voice calling them from Jupiter's moon (!) -- and the friendly daughter, Hestia, is played by Susan Shaw, while her bitchy older sister, Duessa, is played by Jacqueline Curtis. Shaw had quite a few credits but Curtis not too many. Richard Walter was given the thankless role of "the creature." 

the creepy creature

The "fire maidens" in the movie are given to dancing ballet -- or what passes for ballet in movies like this -- at the drop of a hat. Generally they dance to music from Borodin's "Prince Igor," popularized as "Stranger in Paradise" in Kismet. No one on Broadway or in the world of real ballet had anything to fear from these gals. Aside from this film and one TV episode, Cy Roth only directed two poorly-received war films. With some time and effort, a bigger budget, and a little actual thought, the picture might have amounted to something -- although I'm not certain what. Still, it's honestly not utterly awful. Anthony Dexter made a very good Valentino in that biopic of the silent film star. 

Verdict: Don't say you weren't warned. **1/4.

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA Season 4

Richard Basehart and David Hedison

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA Season Four. 

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, despite a few silly detours, began as a relatively serious show that could be watched by both children and grown-ups. But with each season it became increasingly ludicrous, mostly because the powers-that-be concluded that it was mostly kids watching the show. It would have been better had they provided more storylines that viewers of all ages could appreciate, but that was generally not the case in the later seasons of the show. 

Vincent Price with one of his "Deadly Dolls"

Nevertheless, even season four -- the final season -- had a few watchable and interesting episodes. Vincent Price guest-starred in "The Deadly Dolls," which had a script by Charles Bennett, and had the crew being replaced by puppets; it was not memorable, unfortunately. "Cave of the Dead,' with Warren Stevens, had to do with missing ships and the Flying Dutchman. "Man-beast," "Fatal Cargo" and "The Abominable Snowman" featured dangerous creatures, mutated or otherwise, the first of which was actually Captain Crane (David Hedison), stomping around the Seaview. Admiral Nelson (Richard Basehart) is told that Crane is an imposter in "Edge of Doom," which was a more serious but, ironically, less interesting episode than others. "The Death Clock" is a loopy episode in which guest-star Chris Robinson uses a machine to manipulate time and space. Mr. Pym (Henry Jones) did the same thing with a stop watch in two episodes with missed potential, "A Time to Die," and the series's final episode, "No Way Back," which is the better of the two. 

Basehart and Hedison keep straight faces with the Lobster Man

The show's nadir might well have been "The Lobster Man," with a silly-looking crustacean man -- Victor Lundin managed to keep his dignity in the part -- although there were other contenders for silliest monster/alien. The best episodes of the season, however, included "Sealed Orders," in which the Seaview crew disappear one by one while a neutron bomb is being transported; "Rescue," (guest-starring Don Dubbins) with saboteurs on the sub causing havoc and death; and arguably the very best fourth season episode, "Man of Many Faces," in which an unknown person disguises himself as several crew members even as a certain device begins to pull the moon out of orbit. 

David Hedison and Bob Dowdell

Most of the fourth season episodes of the show proceeded as mysteries, providing a weird situation which Nelson, Crane, Chip (Bob Dowdell) and the others would have to figure out, only the solutions too often tended to be childish alien menaces. "Nightmare" began well, with Crane being accused of treason even as the Seaview aims missiles at Washington D.C., but it collapsed before the conclusion. There were far too many episodes in which Nelson or  Crane were mind-controlled into trying to kill each other or destroy the ship. At least producer Irwin Allen got to use his beloved giant lizard from The Lost World once again in "Death Clock."

Verdict: Not enough great episodes to make this a memorable season. **1/2. 

WELCOME!

I have been doing the Great Old Movies blog for about ten years -- covering all kinds of movies (primarily but not limited to those that are twenty-five years old) -- but much of the material I have covered can't necessarily be considered "great" nor especially classic. Of course, there are two things to remember: some acclaimed classic films with major stars don't wear well and may actually be rather poor (as you can tell if you've read my blog); and there are lots of "B" movies and genre films, as well as old TV shows, that are excellent. So B Movie Nightmare will be the sister blog to Great Old Movies, focusing on genre films (horror, sci-fi, fantasy, crime and detective, etc.), exploitation items, old, often-forgotten TV shows, and all the stuff that may not necessarily qualify as a "great old movie" but, conversely, may not be that bad at all. In addition, B Movie Nightmare will cover films, TV (as well as the occasional non-fiction book and novel) from all decades, even if I will concentrate primarily on older material. And, of course, I will cover the stinkers, hopefully in amusing fashion. 

Depending on my schedule, B Movie Nightmare will at first come out on a monthly basis, generally the last week of the month, while the first three weeks will be given over to Great Old Movies, (although it is possible that GOM may eventually go on a bi-weekly/twice monthly schedule). This is subject to change. 

The photos directly above are from the following pictures: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman with Allison Hayes; The Brasher Doubloon with George Montgomery playing Philip Marlowe; Bert I. Gordon's The Cyclops; and Jacques Tourneur's Curse of the Demon. The main blog photo up above is from William Castle's Homicidal, with Joan Marshall (as "Jean Arless") and Eugenie Leontovich.