Category: Atomic Age
-
The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
In his on-air introduction of The Hitch-Hiker (1953) on TCM, Ben Mankiewicz shared the kind of perceptions about the film that I wish I were smart enough to realize myself. The fact that it was directed by a woman (Ida Lupino), though, doesn’t impress me in and of itself as much as the fact that…
-
From Hell It Came (1957)
At least I found two brief references to Destination Inner Space (1966) in my vintage monster movie reference books. I found none for From Hell It Came (1957.) This made me realize how many genre films must have been “discovered” sometime after the 1980s. Not worth mentioning in two decades’ worth of publishing, it’s well…
-
The World, The Flesh and The Devil (1959)
Besides wanting to watch it ever since I read its synopsis, I was encouraged when TCM host Ben Mankiewicz spoke highly of The World, The Flesh and The Devil in its introduction prior to a recent airing. Sadly, I was disappointed on both fronts. While there are interesting elements of the “last man on earth”…
-
The Monolith Monsters (1957)
From time immemorial the Earth has been bombarded by objects from outer space, bits and pieces of the universe piercing our atmosphere in an invasion that never ends. Meteors, the shooting stars on which so many earthly wishes have been born – of the thousands that plummet toward us, the greater part are destroyed in…
-
4D Man (1959)
The fundamental requirement for enjoying an atomic age horror/sci-fi film is suspension of disbelief. It’s not usually difficult for me to not only accept, but to also embrace, ridiculous scientific actions and nonsensical reactions. However, every once in a while, I see a movie that strikes me as so silly, I can’t see beyond them.…
-
The Wasp Woman (1959)
At 63 minutes, the theatrical version of The Wasp Woman (1959) is perfectly efficient with its storytelling, and that story is perfectly simple. It’s the 23rd movie directed by Roger Corman, who also makes a cameo appearance as a doctor at the hospital, and I’d say his creative machine was firing on all cylinders. It’s…
-
Teenage Zombies (1959)
There’s no reason I should have any fondness for Teenage Zombies (1959), a movie that, perhaps not surprisingly, does not feature any teenage zombies. Well, two young women do become under the influence of an experimental gas that causes them to stand speechless for a few minutes. Somehow, though, I enjoyed it. It’s not a…
-
The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy (1958)
A large part of The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy (1958), I’m guessing about two-thirds of it, is told in flashback, which makes sense because only about one-third is original material. The flashback sequences are actually recaps of two previous movies: The Aztec Mummy (1957) and The Curse of the Aztec Mummy (1958). It’s an…
-
Half Human (1958)
aka Ju jin yuki otoko (1955) There’s an exception to every rule. While I consider myself a purist and almost always prefer my foreign horror in its original, unadulterated condition, there’s one movie that I enjoy more in its edited American version: Half Human. Imagine a movie that’s overlong at 94 minutes: that’s Ju jin…
-
The Flame Barrier (1958)
The Flame Barrier (1958) offers a simple, yet intriguing sci-fi concept, but the minutes between the points the plot is established and is then ultimately resolved (in other words, the bulk of the movie) are comprised of an odd hybrid of jungle adventure and romance. The movie it evoked most for me is, strangely enough,…
Classic Horrors Club 