Category: 1950s

The last of the Ultimate Sci-Fi collection films, one thing that can be said for Tarantula! is that it is better than The Mole People. It’s actually a decent entry in the giant monster film genre. The quality of the tarantula special effects aren’t going to set the world on fire, but the visuals of a giant tarantula menacing the citizenry through the hills, valleys, and highways is lots of fun. Leo G. Carroll is particularly entertaining in his mad scientist role. One note from watching the entire series: I understand where the inspiration for MST3K and the like comes from. It is hard to watch these films without offering commentary on the ludicrousness.   

A Western that does not spend all its time in a ramshackle town or out in the open plains is the Western for me. Clark Gable is here in all his charismatic, womanizing glory here as the stranger looking to relieve four widows and their mother-in-law of ill-gotten fortunes. The double entrendres and manipulations of each individual woman is amusing to watch. All of the widows are great in their varied personalities and reflections on their marriages, as is their hard-as-nails mother-in-law. Eleanor Parker (whom I have to keep reminding myself was in more movies than The Sound of Music) is particularly wonderful as the widow who goes toe-to-toe with Clark. I had a lot of sympathy for Jo Ann Fleet’s mother-in-law, trying to hold together what little family she had left and holding out hope that one of her boys would return to her. 

There are about a half dozen different movies pushed together to make The Mole People and as a whole they aren’t that interesting, all take too long in the hour and twenty minute runtime. There’s the introductory lecture on hollow earth theory, the adventuring archeologists bit, meeting up with the underground Sumerians, and finally hanging with actual mole people. It’s best advised to not ask too many questions about the Sumerians, because it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Their costumes are nice and makes one wonder why men don’t wear dresses more often. I was surprised at the graphicness of some of the death scenes in a 1950s film. The mole people are the greatest part and not a lot of time is spent explaining anything about them. Their look makes it seem like someone found an extreme discount sale on a gross of rubber Creature from the Black Lagoon costumes. Spoiler Alert: when searching for ancient underground civilizations, don’t take the elderly and infirm. They’ll just hold you back and also rat you out as not being immortal.

There is something entertaining in a film noir experiencing a criminal feeling the noose tightening around their neck. This is particularly true when the criminal is a crooked cop. Lee J Cobb carries this well, not giving two bits about anyone who might be in his way. Jane Wyatt as his murdering girlfriend goes far […]

Here is another entry from the Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection that had spawned The Incredible Shrinking Man. This one is a more in the ‘It Came From Space’ genre. What sets this one apart, and also really made it most enjoyable for me, is that the monsters aren’t humanoid beings trying to take over the […]

I haven’t seen a whole lot of them, but I do love Space Age era science fiction stories that don’t hold up in any way, shape, or form in modern times (or maybe even in any times). This one particularly gets many points for the special effects and playing with different set ratios. I wish they had done even more with those when the main character first started shrinking. It did drag a bit in the end, especially as the man made a few too many Too Dumb To Live decisions, but what do I know I’ve never shrunk to the size of a thimble. My teeny tiny brain might not work as well then either.

I’ve always enjoyed John Payne in Miracle on 34th Street and have been intrigued to see what else his career has to offer. Here we have him in a noir-ish film, playing the bad guy as a crooked cop who takes over the crime syndicate through is own clever machinations. Along for the ride we […]