PHARAOH'S CURSE

Mark Dana and Ziva Rhodann

PHARAOH'S CURSE (1957). Director: Lee Sholem. 

"It was never Robert's fate that he should meet a peaceful death." 

In 1902 Egypt Captain Storm (Mark Dana) travels with a woman named Sylvia Quentin (Diane Brewster) to her husband's archaeological site in the Valley of the Kings. Native uprisings against the Crown have necessitated a bodyguard for Mrs. Quentin and Storm is elected. Along the way they encounter a mysterious female named Simira (Ziva Rhodann), whose brother, Numar (Alvaro Guillot), is working at the dig. Sylvia basically wants a divorce from her husband, Robert (George N. Neise), but bigger problems develop when they open the tomb of King Rahotep, and there is a transfer of souls from the mummy into Numar, who instantly ages and even turns into a blood-drinking vampire. 

A vampire that looks most unwell

Pharaoh's Curse has some atmosphere and isn't badly acted but it never develops into a truly memorable horror film. In his vampire form, Numar manages to drain every ounce of blood from both animals and humans, but he does it in such a record-breaking amount of time that it's almost comical -- one can imagine him slurping up a person's entire blood supply in a matter of seconds. The fact that he hardly seems animated or energetic enough to do much of anything makes it even funnier. George N. Neise seemed to make a specialty of playing immoral and weasel-like characters. This was the first film credit (after one TV appearance) of Ziva Rhodann, an Israeli actress who was first billed as Ziva Shapir in this film and others; she did mostly  television work. From those fine folk at Bel-Air Studios. 

Verdict: Mediocre vampire-mummy movie. **1/4.  

INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN

Steven Terrell and Gloria Castillo

INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN (1957). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

"I bet you killed one of my price heifers!" -- Farmer Larkin

Out near Lover's Lane in the town of Hicksville, two teens who plan to get married -- Johnny (Steven Terrell) and Joan (Gloria Castillo) -- run over a little green man who came out of a spaceship. Bedeviled by the creature's severed but animated claw, they contact the police, only to be accused of killing a huckster named Joe (Frank Gorshin of Hot Rod Girl) who hoped to cash in on the alien's body. As the military close in on the spaceship and ultimately destroy it, Johnny and Joan decide to find the little green man's corpse for themselves, and do the sensible thing -- by fleeing the police station and stealing a patrol car! They enlist the aid of Joe's roommate, Artie (Lyn Osborn), who doesn't seem the slightest bit concerned or even that curious about his supposed friend's demise. Since the adults won't listen to them, Johnny and Joan gather up the necking teenagers and decide to take care of the alien invaders -- if that's what they even are -- themselves. 

aliens on the loose!

Invasion of the Saucer Men is not a very good movie, but it's not an out and out parody, although it comes close at times. The aliens, who are short but have big, membranous and ugly heads, appear only briefly, although one of them has a fight with a bull, injecting the animal with alcohol (as it did Joe) via needles at the end of its fingers. As for the cast, Steven Terrell was a regular on the sitcom Life with Father, and played a lot of "teen" roles, although he was actually 28 when he appeared in Saucer Men. Gloria Castillo was 24 and also played a number of teen roles, mostly on television. 

Because they're young? Terrell and Castillo

Raymond Hatton nearly steals the movie with his blustery and amusing portrayal of Farmer Larkin, who is always afraid some one will steal or kill one of his price heifers.  Douglas Henderson, who plays Lt. Wilkins of the U.S. Air Force,  was in Bert I. Gordon's King Dinosaur and amassed quite a few credits. Frank Gorshin, who later achieved a measure of fame playing the Riddler on Batman, is fine as the ill-fated Joe and seems to be having fun. Ronald Stein contributed a quirky musical score which is still creepy when it needs to be. The constant references to how the teens just won't be believed about the aliens because they're young, and how clueless those pesky adults can be, gets "old" very quickly.

Verdict: See it once and never again. **1/4.

IT CAME FROM 1957

IT CAME FROM 1957: A Critical Guide to the Year's Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Rob Craig. 2013; McFarland.

1957 was a banner year for the release of films in the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres, and this book chronologically looks at the prodigious output, including numerous double-bills and a few re-releases. In the first chapter, author Rob Craig puts the year into context, especially as it pertains to The Bomb -- its ethical implications, fear of nuclear attack, and especially of the effects of radiation on people, animals, and insects, the results of which were often shown in these movies.  

First a disclaimer. Scholarly books about film come in two categories. There are those written by people who are knowledgeable about cinematic technique and the different elements of film and analyze a movie in such terms. Then there are writers who are not so "film-aware" and focus more on psycho-sexual and sociopolitical aspects of film, examining -- frequently over-examining - real or imagined subtext, not that this is necessarily an invalid way of looking at films. It Came from 1957 could be called a combination of both types, because author Craig does seem film-aware, although he also indulges in examining non-cinematic  subtexts -- a little too much for my taste, which, for me at least, weakens the book.

The first chapter of the book, although perhaps too long (many readers will be impatient to get to the actual movies) is quite well-written, informative and often fascinating. On the other hand, Craig is given to overstatement and over-simplifying far too often, and along with the good points he makes he also spouts unsubstantiated conspiracy theories in a way that at times seems childish. But the big problem for me is the pseudo-intellectual nature of the book, particularly in the section that covers the movies. There is nothing wrong with examining the sub-text of a film (even if it this sub-text was unintended) -- and to be fair Craig occasionally intimates that the writers and directors were in most cases just making silly horror flicks with no underlying themes or motives --  but he just takes it too far: the book literally has several laugh-out-loud moments. For example: 

"Yet, as we all are, the crab monster's very existence is challenged  by the horrific inroads of phallic culture via the burgeoning military-industrial complex, and its mascot -- baleful emblem of patriarchal intimidation -- the mushroom bomb that can easily kill us all."

Well ... I think even Roger Corman, who directed Attack of the Crab Monsters, the film in question, might scratch his head at that. It's not that it's hard to get -- it's just silly! At times Craig seems positively obsessed with phallic and vaginal symbols to the point where you're thinking of Dr. Frederic Wertham's debunked tome "Seduction of the Innocent," wherein he twisted panels every which way to come up with evidence of the comic book industry's horrible influence on teenagers. 

However, despite the horribly pretentious psycho-babble, the book can still be fun to read at times (tedious to digest at others). I agree with Craig's disdain for the over-rated Star Wars, love Crab Monsters possibly even more than he does, and can't help but be impressed by his enthusiasm for his subject, no matter how misguided at times. Craig is rather inconsistent when it comes to Bert I. Gordon, and there are times I suspect he was reviewing some movies from distant memory. The book also left me confused on where he stands on LGBT rights, as he finds homosexuality (often in a negative light) in certain films that honestly have no gay characters. 

Verdict: It was a very good year if a highly imperfect if interesting book. **1/2. 

REFORM SCHOOL GIRL

Gloria Castillo

REFORM SCHOOL GIRL (1957). Director: Edward Bernds.       

Donna (Gloria Castillo) has an unfortunate home life living with her miserable Aunt Rita (Claire Carleton) and her lecherous, leering uncle (Jack Kruschen). No wonder she decides to go out for a ride with Gary (Wayne Taylor). Unfortunately the driver is Vince (Edd Byrnes of 77 Sunset Strip), and the car they're in is stolen. Throwing Gary and his own date, Josie (Luana Anders), out of the car, he takes off for a wild ride with a resisting Donna, and runs over and kills a man. Frightened of Vince's retaliation, Donna refuses to tell the cops who the driver was, and is sent to reform school, where things, are, if anything, even worse. 

Edd Byrnes and Ralph Reed

Donna finds herself in the Hastings School for Girls, run by Mrs. Trimble (Helen Wallace). There is also a teacher named David Lindsay (Ross Ford), who is doing research on the tough lovelies but who is unlikely to inspire romantic feelings in any of them. Donna earns the enmity of some of her fellow inmates, including Roxy (Yvette Vickers, who looks like crap in this). Things get worse when the devious Vince has a lady pal call the police pretending to be Donna, and she gives Josie's name to them -- Josie winds up at the Hastings School herself and with the help of the other girls, who hate snitches, decides to get even with Donna. Donna's only friends are Ruth (Jan Englund) and Jackie Dodd (Ralph Reed), a nice boy who sneaked inside the gates to go on more than one date with her. Vince forces Ralph to show him the way inside, but Ralph may have other plans. 

Yvette Vickers and Ralph Reed

Reform School Girl is a modestly entertaining flick with a good lead performance by Castillo [Invasion of the Saucer Men]. Vickers [Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman] is typically zesty, most of the other gals play with vitality, Edd Byrnes overacts a bit but is sufficiently nasty, and Ralph Reed makes an appealing "good boy" to counterbalance Byrnes' snake in the grass. Sally Kellerman has a small role as nasty, violent Marcia; she seems to literally tower over the other girls. Bernds also directed High School Hellcats. 

Verdict: "Chicks" in the hoosegow. **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. ***. 

SHE DEVIL

Mari Blanchard

SHE DEVIL (1957). Director: Kurt Neumann. 

Dr. Dan Scott (Jack Kelly of Cult of the Cobra) is convinced that all animals have the ability to heal themselves, and has come up with a miracle serum derived from fruit flies. His associate and friend Dr. Richard Bach (Albert Dekker of Gammera, the Invincible) warns him against testing it on humans, but they both agree there is no harm in testing it on a hopeless case, a dying woman named Kyra (Mari Blanchard). The serum not only saves Kyra's life, but gives her amazing healing properties as well. To study any further effects of the serum, Kyra agrees to move in with the two men -- the maid Hannah (Marie Blake) will serve as chaperone -- but they soon discover that Kyra has a decidedly ruthless and opportunistic nature. 

Marie Blake displays her opinion of Kyra's painting

She Devil should have been a fun movie, but it lacks energy and real viciousness and never fully exploits its potential. One gets the impression that Kyra -- who has a hard-luck story we never really get to hear -- was a sociopathic personality long, long before Dr. Scott administered his magical elixir, but this never occurs to the scientists. Despite the elixir being derived from fruit flies, Kyra never starts crawling across the ceiling or turning part-bug as The Wasp Woman does -- or as the hero does in The Fly, also directed by Kurt Neumann -- although that certainly might have been amusing. Blanchard plays the sexy hard-boiled, one-dimensional Kyra as well as anyone could, supported by a bland Kelly and an earnest Dekker. Marie Blake, herein billed as "Blossom Rock" as she was later on The Addams Family TV show, has one of her best and biggest roles and is very funny as the disapproving maid Marie, especially when she reacts to a painting of Kyra that she gives cast-off lover Dr. Scott as a wedding present. 

Jack Kelly and Albert Dekker

Two other significant roles in the film are played by John Archer and Fay Baker, the former as Barton Kendall, a wealthy suitor -- and then husband -- of Kyra's and the latter as the former's outraged wife, Evelyn, who is helped into eternity by the actions of the second Mrs. Archer. Although the score by Sawtell and Shefter at times tries to work up some pathos, sympathy, for Kyra (in the hopes that it was the serum that made her evil, as unlikely as that might be), the movie is too junky to really make anything of this. In fact, She Devil would have been a much more worthwhile watch if it was even more lurid and sensational. Paul Cavanagh shows up briefly as a wealthy man Kyra assaults and robs in a dress shop. Kurt Neumann also directed They Were So Young. 

NOTE: The same source material was used for an episode of Science Fiction Theater, "Beyond Return," that aired two years earlier. 

Verdict: Too tame by far. **. 

THE INVISIBLE MONSTER

Richard Webb

THE INVISIBLE MONSTER (12 chapter Republic serial/1950). Director: Fred C. Brannon.

A man who calls himself the Phantom Ruler (Stanley Price) is determined to take over the nation with an invisible army. He already wears a black cloak which makes him disappear under a certain kind of light. Now he has enlisted the often unwilling aid of illegal immigrants who work in various disciplines. PR and his thuggish helpmates -- who are almost constantly outwitted by handsome insurance agent Lane Carson (Richard Webb) -- try various means to get money and chemicals. Along the way Lane and his pretty assistant Carol (Aline Towne of Radar Men from the Moon) face danger at every turn. 

Stanley Price and Douglas Evans

There is no suspense over the identity of the Phantom Ruler because he is unmasked in chapter one, although his actual name or occupation is never revealed. However, the serial itself does work up some suspense over how Lane and Carol will finally capture the elusive mastermind. The couple are nearly immolated by a stream of gasoline and a fiery truck explosion in chapter two, and are trapped by a river of fire in a mine in chapter five. In chapter seven Lane is tied to a railroad hand-car loaded with explosives and sent hurtling toward an express train as Carol tries to prevent the collision with her automobile. In chapter eight Lane manages to free himself from a pit below a trapdoor when the house above is set on fire. 

Richard Webb takes aim

Lane has a condescending attitude when he first finds out that a woman is to be his partner. "Isn't this an unusual job for a woman?" he sniffs. However, he is eventually won over by Carol's courage and aptitude. Webb [Captain Midnight] makes the perfect serial hero, stalwart, strong, square-jawed, and both "dreamy" and heroic in bearing and appearance. Towne is also capable as a serial leading lady, although she is less colorful than others. Price underplays his role of despicable monster and manages to be convincing if unexciting. Lane Bradford [Zombies of the Stratosphere] is sneeringly effective as the chief thug in the Phantom Ruler's employ. John Crawford is his helpmate, and the "foreigners" forced to help them include John Hamilton, Douglas Evans [The Crimson Key], Dale Van Sickel and George Meeker. Tom Steele and Marshall Reed, both of whom were in very many serials, also make appearances on opposite sides. Stanley Wilson's excellent score expertly compliments the action -- and there is plenty of it in this exciting serial. 

Verdict: Despite the absence of an unknown archenemy and flying, costumed hero, this is still a fun cliffhanger serial. ***. 

CONFIDENCE GIRL

Hillary Brooke

CONFIDENCE GIRL (1952). Written and directed by Andrew L. Stone. 

Roger Kingsley (Tom Conway) is a supposed insurance investigator who is working with the police to bring down confidence woman Mary Webb (Hillary Brooke). In reality Mary is Kingsley's girlfriend and his helpmate in various crooked shenanigans. Kingsley has gone so far as to circulate a phony picture of Mary and to pass off the fingerprints of an unidentified dead woman as Mary's. Kingsley's latest scheme involves setting Mary up as a genuine psychic in the hopes that it will lead to lots of cash. But will the cops be fooled so easily? 

Tom Conway and Hillary Brooke

The cheaply-made Confidence Girl is more entertaining than it might seem at first, though one has to take it with a large grain of salt. Some of the tricks that Mary and Roger use to fleece people seem very genuine, but the business with the psychic is another matter. Doing her act in a nightclub, Mary is given tips about people in the audience from the parking attendant and the hat check girl. Reasonable so far. But then we learn that there's a whole group of people working upstairs with peepholes over every table and hidden mikes. How Roger hopes to make any money by employing over a dozen people to help Mary in her act is a question that's never answered. Mary tries to unveil a murderer at one point, and when she realizes that some people could be fleeced out of their life savings she develops a conscience. 

Confidence Girl begins well as Mary and Roger play their cons on a department store (for a mink coat) and on a pawnbroker who gets greedy when he thinks a cheap violin is worth thousands, but the business with the psychic and a man accused of murdering someone with poisoned liquor doesn't quite work. Andrew L. Stone went on to much better things, such as The Last Voyage and The Steel Trap. 

Verdict: Entertaining enough if minor-league. **1/4. 

HOSTILE WITNESS

Ray Milland also directed the film

HOSTILE WITNESS (1969). Director: Ray Milland. 

Attorney Simon Crawford (Ray Milland, who also directed the film) is horrified to learn that his daughter, Joanna (Sandra Tallent), has been killed by a hit and run driver. Soon after, Simon's old friend, Judge Gregory (Percy Marmont), who was practically an uncle to the young lady, is found murdered. The prosecutor insists that there is evidence that the dead judge was the hit and run driver, and that Simon, who swore to kill whoever ran over his daughter, is the murderer. Simon does not believe that the judge was the driver, and knows he did not commit the murder. Now the arrogant barrister finds himself on trial, and a lot depends on a strange letter and a private investigator who may or may not even exist. 

Hostile Witness is absorbing enough although the plot, taken from a stage play, is a bit on the creaky side. Milland is fine as Simon, and he gets some able support from Sylvia Syms as a legal assistant, Ewan Roberts as his lawyer, Hamish Gillespie, and Norman Barrs as another associate, Charles Milburn. Geoffrey Lunsden is also effective as Major Maitland, a dear friend of Simon's who may do more harm than good on the witness stand. It's all professional, reasonably fast-paced, but all in all just too minor to be that memorable. Milland also directed Panic in the Year Zero and a few other theatrical films along with several TV episodes. There is at least one loose end remaining at the film's conclusion. 

Verdict: Watchable if forgettable. **1/4. 

CAPTIVE WOMEN

Gloria Saunders and Robert Clarke

CAPTIVE WOMEN (aka 1000 Years from Now/1952). Director: Stuart Gilmore. 

In 3000 A.D. after a nuclear holocaust, mankind has developed into two groups. "Mutates," who are disfigured and can't give birth to normal children, and "Norms" who were spared the ravages of radioactivity. In the shattered ruins of Manhattan, the Norms live in the abandoned subways while the Mutates have a conclave in New Jersey and send raiding parties out through a secret underwater passageway, probably the Holland tunnel. What the mutates are raiding for are "norm" females in the hopes that one will give birth to a normal child, which is strange as the mutates hate the norms and vice versa, so you'd think they'd want their children to be mutates.

Ron Randell

In any case, another problem for this particular tribe of norms is a man named Gordon (Stuart Randall), who leads another norm tribe that resides upstate; Gordon wants to take over the Manhattan tribe. He chooses to do this on the wedding day of Rob (Robert Clarke), son of the Manhattan chief, and Catherine (Gloria Saunders), daughter of the High Priest. Unfortunately, the sluttish Catherine is in league with slimy Jason (Douglas Evans), who is in league with Gordon. One of the best scenes in the movie shows Gordon giving an unsuspected and violent "reward" to Jason for helping him take over the tribe. Rob and his friend Bram (Robert Bice) are taken captive, along with some women, by the mutates, who are led by Riddon (Ron Randell). Not as disfigured as the others, Riddon is hoping for peace between the two groups, as is a lovely norm lady named Ruth (Margaret Field). But will Gordon allow this to happen? 

Saunders with Douglas Evans

Captive Women pre-dates Roger Corman's post-nuclear film Teenage Caveman by several years, but it, unfortunately, doesn't include any monsters, radioactive or otherwise, which it could have used. Instead it's a fairly straightforward, somewhat absorbing, and generally unexciting look at bigotry and jealousy, as well as another rip-off of Stephen Vincent Benet's classic short story "By the Waters of Babylon." On the plus side are some of the performances. Ron Randell, with an inappropriate British accent (the actor was actually born in Australia) that doesn't quite ruin his portrayal but somehow adds to it, comes off best, giving a genuine performance when others might have phoned it in. William Schallert is also notable as another mutate who tries to take leadership away from Randell, and Clarke is fine as the noble Rob. Saunders is zestily nasty betraying everyone right and left, and Margaret Field (Sally Field's mother), Bice, and Evans are perfectly competent. The picture has plenty of atmosphere. The prologue sequence, which makes it all too clear for the atomic age that what follows is a cautionary tale (but is really just the same old schlock with pretensions) is at least well done. The sixties comic book Mighty Samson, which also took place in a ravaged post-nuclear New York City , was a lot more entertaining. 

Verdict: This could have used a big lizard or a giant spider or two. **1/4.

THE CRIMSON GHOST

The Crimson Ghost played by ?

THE CRIMSON GHOST (12 chapter Republic serial/1946). Directed by William Witney and Fred C. Brannon. 

A masked figure called the Crimson Ghost is secretly one of the board members of a scientific society. Professor Chambers (Kenne Duncan) has invented the cyclotrode, the "most powerful offensive weapon in the world" and the Ghost can't wait to get his hands on it. The cyclotrode can neutralize virtually all forms of energy. The Ghost and his associates Ashe (Clayton Moore) and Bain (Rex Lease) enact various schemes to either steal the cyclotrode or make a duplicate, doing their best to loot armored cars and purloin some heavy water. Their efforts are stymied by Duncan Richards (Charles Quigley), who is not only a physicist himself but a security man. His associate Diana (Linda Stirling) proves an able helping hand on more than one occasion.  

Linda Stirling and Charles Quigley 

The Crimson Ghost is an exciting and briskly-paced serial, with lots of Republic's trademark furious fisticuffs and furniture-smashing battles. Our hero falls from a wire he's traversing in chapter three, almost succumbs to poison gas pumped into a locked room in chapter four, and apparently falls from a high window into an alley with a thud in chapter eleven. Chapter six is especially action-packed, featuring a plane crash, a battle by cliff side, and the explosion of a bridge. The Ghost is, as usual, an  utterly ruthless, amoral and sociopathic criminal and his henchmen are little better. Quigley makes a stalwart hero in this; Linda Stirling had more to do in earlier serials such as Zorro's Black Whip and The Tiger Woman, when she was the leading lady.  Quigley was in a number of serials and B movies. 

Verdict: Punches and thrills galore. ***. 

YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST

Elaine Edwards and Craig Hill

YOU HAVE TO RUN FAST (1961). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

Roger Condon (Craig Hill), a young doctor, has to treat a dirty cop who was beaten by thugs who work for mob boss Jim Craven (Grant Richards). When the crooked cop dies, the police want to put Condon in protective custody, but he wants to stay in charge of his life. Therefore he runs off to become a sporting goods salesman -- rechristened Frank Harlow -- in a small hunting community. Meanwhile Craven and his men go on the hunt for Condon, hoping to eliminate him as a witness. The doc stays in an inn owned and run by Colonel Maitland (Willis Bouchey) and his daughter Laurie (Elaine Edwards).  

Craig Hill and Jack Mann as Lt. Carbo

The first problem with this poorly scripted movie is that the lead character is an asshole. He expresses not the slightest remorse nor regret after a cop who was assigned to protect him -- after he's refused to go to a hotel -- is gunned down (but then the lead detective doesn't seem especially bothered by this, either). His idea of "living his life" is shaving his mustache, getting contacts, and completely giving up his hard-earned career as a doctor -- say what? Laurie comes off like a hopeless she-geek -- she is so desperate to have a relationship with Condon that for a birthday present she actually gives him a picture of herself! (Talk about pushy!) Fortunately for her, Condon is equally interested in Laurie. 

As the excitement doesn't mount, Craven shows up in town with two more thugs, leading Condon to run off once more, and a gun battle develops with the old Colonel and his rifle playing a large part. You Have to Run Fast comes off like a barely-produced and padded television episode and it resists interesting developments at every turn. Craig Hill was a handsome "B" actor who went to Europe to make features. He finally got married at age 64 after having hot flings with Rock Hudson and, reportedly, Marlene Dietrich, among others. His early romantic life might have made a more interesting movie than this stinky picture. Director Cahn keeps things moving but to no avail with this bad a story. 

Verdict: Run fast from this movie. *1/2. 

COP HATER

Partners: Robert Loggia; Gerald S. O'Loughlin

COP HATER (1958). Director: William Berke.

Detective Steve Carelli (Robert Loggia) and his partner, Mike (Gerald O'Loughlin), look for a man who has been gunning down cops at the rate of one a day. Steve has a deaf-mute girlfriend,  Teddy (Ellen Parker), and Mike has a wife named Alice (Shirley Ballard). In between having drinks, fooling around with the ladies in their lives, and occasionally talking to suspects, the two detectives -- who always seem tired even though they actually do very little -- eventually uncover a suspect or two. But will they ever find the right guy?

Russell Hardie and Jerry Orbach

Cop Hater is based on a novel by Ed McBain of the well-known 87th Precinct series. These books feature Detective Steve Carella, although the film changes his name to Carelli. The movie is a misfire on virtually every level. For one thing, considering the fact that cops are being killed, the movie has absolutely no urgency or pacing at all. As noted, Carelli and Mike don't seem to do very much actual detective work, and nobody but their boss, Lt. Byrnes (Russell Hardie), seems to give a damn about much of anything. Loggia is only okay as Carelli, but O'Loughlin is quite good as his partner, Hardie is excellent as the Lieutenant, and a very young Jerry Orbach makes a decided impression in his one big scene as a young punk, leader of a boy gang that may be responsible for a murder. 

Other good bits are provided by Vincent Gardenia as Danny the Gimp, and Glenn Cannon as Rip, another member of the Grovers gang. As Mike's wife, Shirley Ballard proves no actress, although she somehow managed to amass 42 credits. Lincoln Kilpatrick, Lulu B. King, and Janet Manson, among others, are given some good moments. Albert Glasser's [Beginning of the End] score oddly gets melodramatic during what are supposed to be tender romantic scenes -- it's certainly not the composer's highwater mark. Agatha Christie's "ABC Murders" provides the basic premise for the murders themselves. The Mugger, also directed by William Berke, was another adaptation of an Ed McBain novel. 

Verdict: Lackadaisical treatment sinks this from the start. *1/2. 

IMPULSE

Constance Smith and Arthur Kennedy

IMPULSE (1954). Director: Charles de Latour (Cy Endfield.)

Alan Curtis (Arthur Kennedy) is an American real estate man with a British wife named Elizabeth (Joy Shelton). Alan feels that his life is in a rut, and asks Elizabeth to forget her plans to go see her mother and go off for a second honeymoon in Paris on impulse. Elizabeth refuses, making Alan more susceptible to the charms of a pretty songstress with car trouble named Lila (Constance Smith), whose brother, Harry (Bruce Beebe), is in some kind of dire straits. Alan keeps doing whatever Lila asks and he gets wound up in some crooked business Involving diamonds, police inspectors asking questions, and a few bad guys who are up to no good. 

Constance Smith

Impulse features a typically good performance from Kennedy but the movie -- another bad British so-called suspense film with an American lead -- never really catches fire. As I've said before, this is the kind of movie that fades from memory even while you're watching it, and nothing of great import and excitement ever happens even when Alan becomes convinced that he's killed someone. A scene that almost becomes amusing occurs when the nosy, horse-faced neighbor, Miss Birchington (Jean St. Clair), comes calling when Lila is parading around Alan's house in a towel. The life of Constance Smith, who showed much promise in the beginning but wound up being thrown in jail more than once and tragically died an alcoholic, would undoubtedly been more interesting than this mediocre picture. Smith also appeared in Otto Preminger's 13th Letter. 

Verdict:  The very definition of "minor." **. 

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.                       

DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL

Gloria Talbott and John Agar

DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL (1957). Director: Edgar G. Ulmer.

"If you love me, please kill me!" 

Janet Smith (Gloria Talbott of The Leech Woman) and her fiance George (John Agar of Bait) come for a visit with her late father's friend, Dr. Lomas (Arthur Shields). Lomas informs her that she has inherited this vast estate, house and cash, from her father, but also tells her that he was the notorious Dr. Jekyll. Departing from Stevenson's classic novel, Lomas tells Janet that Mr. Hyde was apparently a werewolf. Afraid that she has inherited the curse (although it sounds as if she were born before Daddy imbibed all those nasty chemicals), she breaks off the engagement. Worse, she has nightmares that she is attacking and killing women in her sleep, women who later turn up dead. 

The werewolf of Daughter

Daughter of Dr. Jekyll is a fair-to-middling horror film. On one hand, there are atmospheric shots of the mansion and countryside, all sheathed in fog, but the internal scenes seem a little too matter-of-fact. The truth of what's going on is pretty much given away by a campy prologue in which one character in werewolf make-up cackles at the audience (repeated at the end). Arthur Shields gives a good performance, while Talbott is suitably overwrought and Agar tries to summon up some enthusiasm. The supporting performers are fine, and the score, which is attributed to no one, is creepy when it needs to be. Cheap and entertaining, this is not one of Ulmer's best directorial efforts. The woman who appears in the nightmare sequences is an actress other than Talbott. 

Verdict: Good enough premise, and fun in a limited way. **1/4. 

FLYING DISC MAN FROM MARS

Walter Reed and James Craven

FLYING DISC MAN FROM MARS (12 chapter Republic serial/1950). Director: Fred C. Brannon. 

Dr. Bryant (James Craven of King of the Rocket Men), a possible German sympathizer during WW 2, fears that some strange flying ships are spying on his laboratories, so he sets out to find one -- and discovers a Martian man named Mota (Gregory Gaye) who just happens to have an Italian accent. As is typical in these serials, Mota is the lone advance guard for an invasion force, and he assures Bryant that if he helps him he will be made emperor of the Earth once the Martians take over. The two men enlist the aid of criminals Drake (Harry Lauter) and Ryan (Richard Irving), and their first mission is to get themselves some uranium for weapons. Many other dastardly deeds, including murder, follow.

the wild "semi-disc Plane"

Fighting against Mota and his associates are Kent Fowler (Walter Reed) of "Fowler Air Patrol" (whatever that means) and his assistants Steve (Sandy Sanders) and Helen (Lois Collier). Mota and his gang fly around in a weird-looking "semi-disc plane" and shrewdly -- or stupidly -- have their main HQ inside an active volcano! Kent has to make do with ordinary planes, at least three of which are utterly destroyed during the proceedings. At one point Kent manages to get inside the flying disc only to be dropped out of the bomb bay in mid-air. Kent also blacks out as he reaches too high an altitude in pursuit of the disc, nearly leading to disaster (and another wrecked plane). In chapter seven the prone Kent is nearly sliced in two by a heavy metal door sliding down upon him, and is apparently thrown into a furnace in chapter four. (In a blatant and amusing "cheat," in the next chapter we suddenly see that it's another man who falls into the furnace.)

Sanders, Collier, Reed

At least in this serial one of the characters, Bryant, displays some astonishment at the realization that an alien is walking around on the earth, a situation which most people take in stride in these chapter plays as if it were an everyday occurrence. Stanley Wilson's musical score, especially the theme, helps keep things hopping, and the FX work of the Lydecker brothers works swell for this type of production. Walter Reed amassed nearly 300 credits during his long career, and pretty Collier had over sixty. Sanders did a lot of TV and western film work. Gregory Gaye (also spelled "Gay" in many productions) had close to 200 credits. Harry Lauter played the hero in the cliffhanger Trader Tom of the China Seas and King of the Carnival. The acting in this is professional all around but no one is especially distinctive. 

Verdict: Fun, exciting Republic serial. ***. 

THE WALKING TARGET

Ron Foster

THE WALKING TARGET (1960). Director: Edward L. Cahn. 

"Why would anyone want to live in a cemetery like this -- before they die?" -- Arnie

Nick Harbin (Ron Foster) is released from a five-year spell in prison after a robbery and everyone wants to know what he did with the money, all $260,000 of it. His old girlfriend, Susan (Merry Anders of Legacy of Blood), who has taken up with pal Dave (Robert Christopher), in the interim, is after the loot, as is the crook Arnie Hoffman (Berry Kroeger of Atlantis the Lost Continent), who is working with Dave. The cops would also like to find out where the money is, but Nick's plans are to give at least half of it to Gail (Joan Evans), the widow of the man, Nick's cohort, who was killed fleeing from police. But whatever Nick wants may take a back seat to what Arnie and his nasty buddies have in mind. 

Joan Evans and Ron Foster

The Walking Target is an acceptable if over-familiar crime thriller that features a charismatic lead performance from smooth and good-looking Ron Foster, a frequent player in director Cahn's "B" features. When Susan tells Dave that she is repulsed by Nick's advances, one has to assume she is lying to Dave, as few people would find Ron Foster exactly "repulsive." The other cast members are all on target, with Kroeger impressing with his usual oily and adept delivery. If there's any problem with the movie it's that it's surprisingly slow-paced at times, and it loses steam before a reasonably exciting climax in a diner. 

Verdict: Okay melodrama with a good lead performance and a game supporting cast. **1/2. 

POSTMARK FOR DANGER

Robert Beatty and William Sylvester

POSTMARK FOR DANGER (aka Portrait of Alison1955). Director: Guy Green.

Artist Tim Forrester (Robert Beatty) learns that his brother, Louis, has been killed in a car crash along with a young woman named Alison (Terry Moore). Alison's father (Henry Oscar) hires Tim to paint a portrait of her and gives him some photographs and a dress she was fond of. But Tim later discovers that the painting has been ruined and finds the dress being worn by his model, Jill (Josephine Griffin), who has been murdered. We learn early on that Alison is actually alive and that she and Tim's other brother, Dave (William Sylvester of House of Blackmail), are mixed up in a diamond smuggling racket with people who play for keeps. Will Tim and Alison become the latest casualties?

Robert Beatty and Terry Moore

Postmark for Danger is yet another insipid British so-called thriller. It has a fairly good fight scene near the end, and the identity of the chief architect of the diamond operation comes as a bit of a surprise, but other than that, this is the kind of minor movie that you forget even while you're watching it. Robert Beatty was the unseen voice of The Invisible Man in the fifties UK TV series, and was also in Tarzan and the Lost Safari. Terry Moore is most famous as the star of Mighty Joe Young and the supposed widow of Howard Hughes. Her acting in this is adequate. 

Verdict: This is no Laura. Skip it if you can. *1/2.