1950s Monster B-Movie Reviews (Page 1)

We are introduced to this film with a deep-voiced narration from an unseen alien (‘Probably the best alien invader in the world…’) which informs us that everything we do is watched with a million eyes. We then get another narrative from the main character, Allan Kelley, a rancher who lives with his wife Carol and daughter Sandy. The ranch has made a loss three years running, Carol is perpetually bad tempered, and Sandy is going to be sent away to school to ‘give her a chance’.

The movie begins properly when a loud droning noise passes over the area. Most of the glass in the house shatters, and Allan is inexplicably attacked by birds. A neighbouring farmer is assaulted whilst carrying out his morning milking duties, although attempting to milk a bull probably goes some way to explaining why it was so angry! Something in the desert is luring things closer. It starts when Sandy’s German Shepherd dog wanders too close and returns to attack Carol, who kills it off-screen with an axe (although in reality the dog looks as fierce as a Buddhist monk at prayer).

It seems that the minds of animals are easier for the device in the desert to control. However, Carl (or ‘Him’), the ranch hand who lives in the shed, is another matter. He is not only mentally challenged but is somewhat creepy, too. There are several lines of dialogue early in the film when Allan and Sandy call the man harmless. You just know then he won’t turn out to be so. It transpires the poor man is divided. He carries out the instructions of the device but ultimately doesn’t hurt anyone because his own mind periodically takes control.

The film loses its way in the final third of the running time. And that’s exactly what the cast do: run around a lot. With the car out of action and birds attacking them at home, they finally decide to do what they should have done in the first place: go into the desert and confront the device. It turns out to be a spacecraft with one occupant. The Beast was added to the movie as an afterthought, as it was suspected the cinema audience would feel short-changed with no monster.

It tries to take control of Sandy’s mind, but the family stands strong against it. It is suddenly introduced that the Beast can take over a lesser body; thus the Beast falls like a puppet with its strings cut and a desert rat runs from the crater. Allan is about to shoot it when a bird of prey swoops down and scoops it up for its dinner. For all the effect it has it’s tantamount to a child’s balloon trying to take over the world.

I always like to think about what might happen after the conclusion of these films. In this case, the family might have been brought close together by events but the ranch is still losing money. Perhaps they should publish a book, sell the movie rights (hopefully, a bigger budget) and conduct tours for nosy rubberneckers.

This example of the period avoids the blame of atomic war on events. Not much happens over-all but it remains eminently watchable. Ideas and money seem to have evaporated by the final scenes which consist of characters wandering into the desert and back to the house. And into the desert and … well, you get the picture. There’s a deputy sheriff as a potential love interest for the daughter Sandy, but he doesn’t do anything significant.

(original review Ty Power 2018)

Leonora’s is the heir to her uncle’s estate. The old man has summoned her. She dreads returning to the house from which she escaped years before, but her philandering husband insists. He cares only about the money. Another couple accompanies them to the house, but they are bored and only interested in drink. Leonora’s husband has designs on the other woman.

Leonora is taken downstairs by her uncle. There, in a room she was never allowed into as a child, are countless heads and sculptures of the predator cat family, and a caged live leopard. He tells her that their family line is cursed, and that it passes down from him to her tonight. Two identities will be within her body and mind: her own and that of a feline killer. He stresses that she should never bear children and risk passing it on, but should let it die out with her. Unable to cope with this revelation, Leonora runs out into the night. The curse leaves the uncle and he is killed by the leopard. The others hear the screams, and Leonora passes out.

The local doctor/psychiatrist – who also happens to be an early love of hers – visits to check on her and administer a sedative. The psychiatrist wants her to burn all of her husband’s books and to leave the house for her peace of mind. But she can’t deny her destiny. She comes across her husband and the other woman kissing in the woods. Becoming angry, the leopard part of her personality attacks and kills him. She attempts to explain to the others and the police that it was her who killed him, but the other woman saw the leopard and so they all think Leonora is disturbed.

The psychiatrist arrives again, wanting to check her into a sanatorium for a ‘temporary’ measure. Once signed in she realises it is a mistake. At night she sees the leopard outside the window. The psychiatrist asks her to summon the beast, but she says it only comes at night. When he returns at night the leopard is outside and prowls near a night watchman, but is blinded by the torchlight. The medical man doesn’t believe her, of course, and suggests a day out with his wife Dorothy.

However, in the evening he is delayed and leaves a message to meet him near a restaurant at London Docks. As Dorothy arrives in the area, Leonora is already nearby and watching. A leopard is spotted and reported to the police, who hunt it with guns. Meanwhile, the psychiatrist is rushing to the location when he hears about the leopard. But Leonora has already confronted Dorothy, as she wants the doctor for herself. The leopard is about to attack Dorothy when the doctor’s car arrives on the scene and hits the leopard, killing it outright. The police want to know if he hit a woman too. The moment the leopard died Leonora died as well. They truly were one and the same.

There were no effects required for this one; simply a tame and pretty docile-looking leopard, and a slightly hysterical leading lady. Barbara Shelley was a star of cult genre movies and it’s nice to see her in this early role. There is no doubt this was a reworking or updated version of Val Lewton’s classic Cat People. Although solid enough, it’s a long way from being an outstanding film.

(original review Ty Power 2019)

An unidentified object is detected over the Earth. It’s path is monitored across America and it lands in a public area. The police and military surround the craft with heavy artillery, and the public crowd around a cordon eager for a glimpse of the occupants. Eventually, a ramp appears and helmeted humanoid approaches on the on-lookers with a gift. An itchy-fingered soldier mistakes it for a weapon and shoots the newcomer. Before things get out of hand a large robot emerges from the craft. A visor opens and a beam vaporises the military’s guns and tanks.

The injured humanoid, who is called Klaatu, is treated privately and his wounds heal quickly. He needs to gather all of the world’s nations together to impart to them knowledge of the utmost importance to the future of the human race. A government representative explains that there is a huge amount of distrust. The Russians won’t attend unless it takes place in Moscow; the Americans insist it’s in the USA, etc. Although he is locked in his room, the alien Klaatu decides to vanish into normal society to discover what the average person is saying about the situation.

Using the name Mr Carpenter, Klaatu rents a room in a boarding house where he meets a friendly young woman and her son. The boy, Tommy, shows Carpenter around the town. This includes a military cemetery, a look at the spaceship and a visit to the foremost scientist in the country. It is arranged that scientists will be brought together to hear Klaatu’s message. The visitor arranges a show of power by making all the electricity die, causing a temporary worldwide blackout. Tommy becomes attached to Carpenter and follows him one night as he returns to his craft to give instructions to the nine foot robot, Gort, and set the demonstration in order.

Tommy tells his mother and boyfriend what he saw, and Klaatu comes clean to Tommy’s mother. The electricity is neutralised worldwide, except for hospitals and planes in flight – but only for thirty minutes. The jealous and selfish boyfriend contacts the military and the hunt is on for the spaceman. Tommy’s mother warns Klaatu and they escape in a taxi. Klaatu issues her instructions to go to Gort and say the words 'Klaatu barada nikto' if anything happens to him. Klaatu is shot in the street by the military and declared dead. Tommy’s mother rushes to the spacecraft where Gort has just become active and killed two guards with the beam from its visor. Gort has the power to destroy the world, but she remembers in her fear to relay the remembered phrase. Gort takes her inside the craft and then leaves to recover the body of Klaatu, which returns to life using a machine in the ship.

As the collected scientists are being asked to leave, Klaatu emerges from the craft to address the people. He explains that Earth’s experimentation with atomic power and weapons threatens the stability and peace of the other planets. They do not tolerate aggression and so have developed a race of robots like Gort to police the worlds, and given them complete power to wipe out any sign of outward aggression. The message is simple: choose to live in peace, or suffer the consequences. With a smile of appreciation to Tommy’s mother, who has returned to the crowd of stunned onlookers, Klaatu and Gort re-enter the spacecraft and it takes off.

This is the film which set the bar for science fiction movies in the 1950s. It was a bar that, as far as I’m concerned, was seldom if ever reached by other films (although a handful came close). This is not only an outstanding film for the period, but an all-time science fiction classic which fully deserves its cult classic status.

Director Robert Wise – who also directed many other movies, such as The Haunting, The Sound of Music, West Side Story, and many others – utilises nice use of light and shadow which other directors from this era should really have learnt from. There is also tight editing, a flowing pace and a progressive ratcheting-up of tension and atmosphere. Michael Rennie is the perfect choice for Klaatu. I don’t really see how this film could have been improved. Do yourself a favour; make a copy your own – and avoid at all costs the dire remake. 

 (original review Ty Power 2018) 

Amateur astronomer John Putnam witnesses a comet pass over his remote desert home and strike the ground. Along with his fiancé Helen Fields and his friend George, he goes to investigate. Alone, he ventures into the crater where he finds a spacecraft. The hatch is open, offering a brief glimpse inside before it slams shut, causing a rock fall. The craft is completely buried so that neither of his companions believe his revelation.

Undeterred, John informs the sheriff. Word soon spreads and news crews show up at the site. However, no one wants to spend the time or money removing the tonnes of rock. When John has a later run-in with the craft’s occupant he is told the buried ship is being repaired, and that it will be leaving soon. But to aid the work required on the damaged craft the alien occupant copies some of the local inhabitants, including John’s friend George, telephone engineer Frank (who looks every bit the cold, alien-possessed automaton) and, later, Barbara herself.

The sheriff rounds-up some townsmen with guns to kill whomever has taken the hostages, so John speeds off to an abandoned mine near the crater. He sees the work on the spacecraft is near completion, and strikes a deal with the alien creature: if the captives are released he will buy time and prevent possible conflict. He escapes with Barbara, George, Frank and others, and uses dynamite to block the mine’s entrance just as the sheriff’s posse arrives. A short while later there is a seismic rumble and the craft bursts out of the crater and into the sky.

This tale from master storyteller Ray Bradbury would have been better suited to an anthology series such as The Twilight Zone. Unfortunately, the plot has trouble sustaining itself as a film-length venture. As with many of these low budget 1950s sci-fi monster movies there is a lot of coming and going – this time by car. The point of view of the alien is seen as if through the bottom of a bowl of jelly. It also lunges toward the camera; a one-man tent with an eye on the front. This is to make use of the then new cinematic 3D effect.

Even so, the only thing which really lets this production down (apart from the female lead with no mind of her own) is the melodramatic dialogue prevalent of this period. Why is it all these visitors from space are always far more advanced than us, and here to teach us a moral lesson to save us from ourselves – often under threat of destruction?! 

(original review Ty Power 2018)  

Let me first say no leeches were harmed in the making of this film. In fact, there aren’t any! The first ten minutes are taken up with experimental chemist Dr Paul Talbot arguing with his wife June at his workplace. She is ten years his senior and doesn’t feel she has her looks anymore. He certainly feels the same way, as he treats her with contempt, driving her to drink. Ironically, his research involves finding a way to slow the ageing process.

When an ancient-looking woman enters his office and offers a powder to temporarily halt the natural ageing of the body in exchange for the money to return her to her homeland African tribe, he not only snatches the opportunity with both hands, but takes his estranged (and strange!) wife and a guide to Africa. So suddenly, with a montage of stock footage set pieces of lions, crocodiles, monkeys, hippos, elephants and hyenas, etc. (which made me think I had somehow switched channels to a National Geographic wildlife film), we are in Africa – or a set made to resemble it!

Dr Talbot allows them to be captured by the old woman’s tribe, as he is after stealing the secret ingredient which makes a person young again. They witness the stick-thin and emaciated tribeswoman returned to voluptuous young health when a pointed ring is jabbed into the back of a warrior’s head, killing him but extracting melatonin from the Pineal Gland, also known as The Third Eye.

Obviously, very little research was conducted for the film; or a great deal of poetic licence was used. The Pineal Gland is situated at the centre of the brain between the two hemispheres and is the size of a small pine cone (hence the name), so the chances of striking lucky with the ring in such a haphazard manner is practically impossible. In this film everyone’s an expert in the art! June, our anti-heroine, even manages it whilst being strangled.

The unloved wife is returned to her former beauty but is told to choose the person to die in the process. It’s no shock when she logically selects her husband Paul. Although informed they can never leave the village, the guide steals some powder and the ring, and the two escape in the confusion caused by some thrown sticks of dynamite. The tribal warriors all run around in little circles like confused ants.

The youth is short-lived (so to speak) so it isn’t long before the guide goes the same way as her husband. After returning home June periodically plays herself (older) or her own fictitious niece (younger, after killing someone). Luring Neil Foster away from his fiance, she ends up killing the competition and sticking the body in the wardrobe (like you do!). Then the police arrive and June Talbot ages to death, falling out of the window.

All so suddenly it’s over and I’m no longer distracted by the possibility of the kettle being on or a plug being in which should possibly be removed. I’d never noticed that there is a subtle pattern in my carpet before watching The Leech Woman. Having said that, at least the film attempts to engage our human faults such as greed and vanity. Grant Williams from The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters, and others returns here as Neil Foster.

(original review Ty Power 2018)

John Lawrence, an American journalist who is owed an exclusive, uncovers the story of a lifetime when he is sent to Bury in Scotland to meet Professor Elliot, an expert in Astronomy. It seems a new planet has appeared and is heading towards Earth at great speed. The professor has no idea what will happen when it reaches proximity; only that there will be consequential disasters … or worse.

A small rocket-shaped contraption – possible a beacon – is found on the moor by the professor’s daughter, Enid Elliot, whilst walking with the journalist Lawrence. It seems to be made of a kind of steel, but stronger and a fifth of the normal weight. An old student of the professor, who has coincidentally arrived by chance (!), sees an opportunity for financial gain. But there is to be another discovery. When Enid’s car breaks down she sees a pulsing light through the thick mist. Investigating, she discovers a craft resembling a diving bell, and peering through a transparent section she is terrified at the sight of an alien face.

She informs her father who returns with the journalist. They meet the bi-pedal creature and save its life when the gas supply to its helmet is restricted. Trusting them but unable to communicate, it follows them back to the house. As the professor inconveniently takes to bed with flu (that’s the bug, not a woman), his old student sees an opportunity to communicate somehow with the visitor from space. There is an apparent difference of opinion and a struggle ensues. The man from Planet X returns to his craft and influences Enid and the selfish student – as well as other locals – to aid in his preparations to leave.

However, John Lawrence has managed to solicit the help of Scotland Yard in London. They easily destroy the spacecraft in an explosion which leaves nothing behind (so much for the super strong metal hull), but not before Lawrence has freed his love interest, Enid, from her hypnotised state and escaped to a safe distance with her. The potential fear and anxiety over what will happen when Planet X reaches its closest point of contact with Earth is completely negated when it shoots off in a slingshot effect and clears off into space again.

So it’s all been a lot about nothing, but at least a mildly enjoyable one. The alien of the title has what appears to be a large papier mache head with rectangular cut-out features, which removes any possible movement or emotion; in this instance a process that, whether by accident or design, creates a suitable otherworldly aloofness. All of these films which emerged in a decade of paranoia ended happily for the human race. Quite different from today when any horror element has to – almost by unwritten rule – finish open-ended, leaving the way for a possible franchise. Sequels were rare in the 1950s; filmmakers simply sold their projects on for whatever profit they could before moving on to the next one. 

(original review Ty Power 2018)  

At a dig in Asia a stone tablet is discovered with a Sumerian hieroglyphic inscription. After it is deciphered as a warning a distant earthquake reveals clues to an ancient civilisation high on a mountain. When a member of the expedition falls through the earth into a great abyss, the others lower themselves down on ropes. They accidentally trigger a rock fall and become trapped below ground. They find the lost city for which they have been searching but are pulled into the ground by bipedal Mole Men.

In a lovely example of bad editing one of the party announces, “Look!” a few seconds before a rock wall moves aside to reveal two guards who take them to a temple. When they are sentenced to death by the king our heroes, Dr Roger Bentley and Dr Jud Bellamin, are non-too pleased. They make their escape, pulling over two huge candle holders for some guards to theatrically fall over. When they use a torch on the priest and king they are said to possess the Light of Ishtar.

One of our two surviving men is given a female slave called Adad and she learns of the world above. The city people create beautiful and aesthetic crafts, but they keep many of the Mole People as slaves. When our two men from above intervene in the bad treatment and torture of the slave Mole Men, it culminates in the reduction of food available for the city people. The king sacrifices three women to the outside Light of Ishtar. During the ceremony another woman throws herself around in a mad dance as if she has ants in her pants.

The priest soon persuades the king that the outsiders are mortal like them. Bentley and Bellamin are poisoned with mushrooms and taken away, and the woman ex-slave Adad makes her escape. The Mole Men pull her down into the loose earth and all disappear, leaving the guards with no one to whip. With our heroes pushed out into Ishtar’s Light, Adad leads the Mole People in a rebellion attack on the king and his subjects. These are dispatched all too easily which makes you wonder why they didn’t think of doing that a long time ago.

They help break through the door to Ishtar’s Light, before doing a collective ‘runner’ from the glare. Our female ex-slave doesn’t even get a tan. “Beautiful,” she remarks. It turns out Adad is the ‘Marked One’ – a sort of link between the surface dwellers and those below. Our two men are none the worse for wear and so it all ends happily ever after – except that after their climb to the surface there is an earthquake tremor and Adad inexplicably throws herself under a collapsing pillar.

A word about the Mole Men. They have long, clawed hands and a larger than human, mottled head and bulbous eyes… oh and a hunchback. They look just different enough without coming across as totally ridiculous. As the monsters of the piece they are Frankenstein’s creature-like benign innocents. In other words, misunderstood. This has elements of The Time Machine about it – only not as good. It’s great to see Alan Napier here as Elinu from the ancient city. He of course was Alfred in the classic 1960s Batman TV series.  The Mole People is not actually that bad… but it’s not particularly good either, and far too predictable. Even so, it would spawn a sequel.

(original review Ty Power 2018)

After suffering raging fires, landslides and a heavy radioactive presence in the rivers, the villages of Mount Fuji are systematically destroyed by a giant robot. It is finally incapacitated when the army plants explosives on a bridge to bring it down. This, it turns out, is a show of strength by the Mysterians, an alien race whose planet has been ruined by a war of H-bombs. They tell five prominent Japanese officials they want two or three kilometres of land. But they also want Earth women, as their own are sterile as a result of war. The men refuse, but the aliens abduct them anyway. Now the battle is on. The army throws everything it has at the grounded enemy craft, but nothing appears to damage it and the ship emits its own deathly rays. It is now down to the scientists to try something new.

This is a Japanese film with English subtitles, directed by Ishiro Honda. The fact it was made by Toho International who made Godzilla, you kind of expect a reasonably high standard. Toho stated this film was far superior. Although I wouldn’t go that far (Godzilla was original and fun, and has spawned the largest amount of sequels of any franchise) I will admit they pulled out all the stops with this one. Subsequently described as a cautionary tale for the atomic age, there is mention of H-bombs in the script to the extent of not resorting to using them at any cost.

The Alien show of power involves an early stomp through some villages by a giant robot which appears to possess flippers rather than arms, and a head that resembles the outcome of an uneasy coupling between a Clanger and a Fingerbob. It’s great fun. I was very sorry to see it meet its end – although it does unsuccessfully attempt to revive itself and crawl out from below ground at the conclusion of the story. The fact it instantly falls back and disappears when the ground gives way makes for a fittingly humorous sayonara.

This was Toho’s first full colour widescreen offering, and makes full use of the medium. The Mysterians never remove their helmets, and stride around purposefully in rank-related primary colours and flowing capes. The sets and modelwork are practically beautiful to behold. There is great attention to detail. I would go as far as to say exemplary. Having said that the attack on the spacecraft does outstay its welcome a little. Additionally, some events are less than logical, like the requirement of the Mysterians of only five women – all of which just so happen to be connected to the five men to which they make their demands. Three they already have hostage; so, knowing the other two are in danger what do the great Earth brains do? They leave them unprotected!

Admittedly, far from being a classic The Mysterians does remain as an example of one of the better serious attempts at science fiction from the golden 1950s period. Certainly, the British Film Institute believed it worthy of remastering and presenting with a fantastic booklet of informative text and excellent studio set photographs and design drawings.

(original review Ty Power 2018)

Two teen hikers break in to a disused military research facility in the hills near Lost River Lake, and are attacked when they discover a pool and decide to swim. Maggie McKeown is a private detective charged with the task of finding the missing couple. After bullying a local drunkard, the pair trace them to the research base. During a struggle with a caretaker who confronts them, a panel switch is activated, inadvertently releasing an experimental strain of mutant piranha fish into the river - creatures which have adapted to cold water conditions, and are just as bloodthirsty. Now everyone along the lake and river is a potential victim: summer camp  kids, locals who live and fish on the river and, perhaps worst of all, an entire community in celebration...

This film unashamedly exploits the success of  Jaws - even down to one of the characters seen playing a Jaws arcade game. The plot, such as it is, follows very similar lines, with lots of people enjoying themselves and the mayor refusing to heed any warnings until a bloodbath ensues. Roger Corman was a well-known B-movie filmmaker. He produced some gems and (let’s be  honest) some turkeys too. Piranha was a low budget race against time. There were many single takes, and plenty of quick-cut editing tricks, both to keep up the pace of events and to prevent the viewing audience from looking too closely at the cheap effects.

The job of directing the film went to the then untested Joe Dante who, with the restraints of time and money still managed to garner a more than healthy income from the finished product. When the film was released in 1978 it made a minor splash in the industry. Unfortunately, today’s viewing public will no doubt find the  proceedings pretty slow and mundane. Furthermore, it has its silly moments, such as how easily killer fish get released into the river (a  fight over a switch), and the government official who falls (or, rather, throws) himself to the attacking Piranha. The remake of recent  years is undoubtedly a more refined, sexy and gruesome film, but I’m an avid supporter of the underdog and just love the stories  of people who cut their teeth against the odds, showing early signs of the greatness  to come - such as the then seventeen year old make-up and effects wizard Rob Bottin.

Extras include an Audio Commentary by  Joe Dante and Jon Davison, and old cine-footage filmed  at the time, showing the Piranha on sticks and everyone having a great time except Joe Dante who was under great pressure. There is a Making of... which interviews many of the cast and crew, a series of Outtakes, a Stills Gallery, and Radio and TV Spots (i.e. trailers). A good example of the story behind the film being better than the film itself.

(Review originally written by Ty Power for sci-fi-online 2012)

Bart, a high-flying businessman, is offered a lucrative contract to work on. He has everything a family man could wish for: a beautiful wife, a young son, and a personally designed modern apartment in a Brownstone building. Things start to go awry when the dishwasher floods the kitchen. The maintenance man informs Bart that a pipe has been chewed through, probably by a rat. The businessman sets traps, but he soon realises that it's not going to be that straightforward. The rat is intelligent, watching and scheming from concealment. The struggle soon turns into a battle of wits with no guaranteed outcome...

When viewing the beginning of this film it's easy to immediately label it tired and predictable. The assumption is you're going to have to endure the celluloid version of a Guy N. Smith-type conveyor belt mediocrity. This is not the case at all; you just have to realise what sort of film you're watching. Having read James Herbert's The Rats and its successors at a young age, I'll have to admit to expecting something similar. However, this obviously low-budget production portrays a one-on-one struggle of ingenuity. Initial sighs or derision at the silliness of the plot soon turns to smiles and even chuckles as the element of fun sucks you in.

Peter Weller (of Robocop fame) turns in a strangely introverted performance. As all attempts to trap or poison the rodent bring resourceful retaliation, the Bart character becomes physically and mentally exhausted, resulting in unhinged delusions. At a couple of points its difficult to know what is real and what is simply a figment of his fevered imagination. In fact, the more unbalanced he becomes, the more enjoyable the watching experience is. For example, on one occasion Bart arrives back from work and greets the hiding rat with a "Hi darling, I'm home." This is quite a feat because for the greater part of the movie Weller is acting alone.

You won't scream, you won't jump (Well, maybe when the rat surges from the toilet), and your blood won't freeze in your veins. This is much more of a tongue-in-cheek thriller than the horror it alludes to. Okay, so it's not Shakespeare, but it is cheap and cheerful fun. Watch out for the end sequence when Bart devises a cruel weapon and effectively becomes the ex-Terminator.

(Review originally written by Ty Power for sci-fi-online 2003)

The USAS Sturgeon atomic submarine is mysteriously lost. It is one of many disasters. Commander Vandover is assigned to the Tiger Shark, a specially equipped submarine, and dispatched to the same location, near the Arctic Circle. The human conflict comes via Holloway and the seemingly useless son of his previous superior. The father was a war hero, the son an anti-war peace-lover who lacks conviction. Experts plot the previous attacks and find a pattern. The source seems to be coming from the Pole itself.

A sinking iceberg damages the Tiger Shark, making it temporarily dead in the water. It is at this point they spot an underwater flying saucer they dub 'Cyclops' due to an eye-like aperture at the top. It is around 200 feet across. They complete repairs and the sub begins a search for the aggressor. After each attack it returns to the Pole, so it is surmised that the craft gains its power via magnetism. They decide to place the atomic submarine directly in the path of the Cyclops - between its last attack and the Pole. They go to silent running and wait.

When it shows up they arm torpedoes. When it is within range they fire the torpedoes but they are caught by a gelatinous substance. They decide instead to ram the craft, but they are unable to disengage. The two craft locked together sink to the depths.

They use the Explorer, a new and experimental submersible, with the idea of cutting the sub loose. The peace-loving man, Dan, pilots them to a docking, and a bunch of the crew enter the alien craft. But then they are pulled by the craft towards the Pole. 

As they continue cutting the sub loose they hear a voice. Two of the men are dispatched - one burning with radiation and the other trying to escape.

Commander Holloway meets a huge, intelligent single-eyed and many tentacled creature. It has been seeking out worlds suitable for colonisation, and Earth is a prime candidate. It wants to take Holloway back as a specimen. Holloway shoots its large eye and escapes back to the submersible in the confusion. The submarine pulls loose and the submersible rushes to dock with it.

Meanwhile the eye is repairing itself, and its craft returning to the Pole. The crew of the Tiger Shark have to prevent it from leaving the Earth, and so adapt an onboard missile with a guidance system to home in on the craft as it leaves. As the Cyclops breaks through the ice the surface-to-air missile destroys it.

This one has no notable creature to create the fun element. The obviously very low budget means that a large eye with tentacles does nothing but take damage from a gun, and then takes just enough time to heal itself to allow our heroes to get away. The alien spacecraft interior consists of one cheap set of ramps and walkways (why do tentacled aliens require walkways?) which is filmed in very low light in order to disguise its inadequacies.

There is lots of stock footage to establish locations, and the acting is only tolerable (what do you expect for pocket change). This one, I'm afraid, is dull rather than fun. At least with Robot Monster you know it's trash but can still have a laugh at its expense.

(original review Ty Power 2020)  

A brilliant scientist, his wife and young son travel to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. However, he is knocked down and killed by a truck. While his brother attempts to get into the dead man's wife's affections, his father locks himself away in his laboratory.

Eventually, the father shows his other son a human brain which is connected to several pieces of electronic equipment, and can solve mathematical equations. They work together to build a human automaton, and the dead son Jeremy's brain is inserted. They convince Jeremy he can see, hear and move, but when he sees his image in a mirror he screams out and collapses.

Of course, his supposed widow Anne has no idea what is going on. Jeremy recovers but asks to be destroyed. His father convinces him to continue his work for the good of mankind. Jeremy finally agrees, but stipulates that he will only work in the lab and wants no one else to see him. While they are working Jeremy has a premonition of two ships colliding in heavy fog. Later, the factual news is announced. Jeremy the Colossus has extra-sensory perception.

On the anniversary of his official death Jeremy leaves the lab for the first time, and goes outside to see his grave. He sees and talks to his son, but has to flee when his son's mother Anne arrives. The boy describes the thing to his mother as "The nicest giant ever."

Jeremy witnesses his brother Henry lying to Anne and seducing her. Anne faints and Jeremy carries her Frankenstein's monster-like to her bed. She calls a friend, John, to help her but he doesn't believe her story. Henry has fled to the city but rings for funds. Jeremy's abilities allow him to know just where the man is. Jeremy walks under the water and ascends at the dockside to confront Henry. A light shoots from his eyes and Henry is no more.

He returns to the lab to destroy the equipment, before telling his father that to help the right people he has to destroy the 'useless and the sick slum people of the world' and so has to remove the humanitarians. He hypnotises his father  into helping him, by ensuring he brings Anne and their son to the United Nations building at a certain time.

The Colossus of New York travels there under the water again. Once at the United Nations building he smashes his way in and starts killing people with beams from his eyes. His son Billy runs  up to him, pleading with him to stop. He tells Billy he doesn't think he can, but wants Billy to stop him by moving a handle on his side which switches him off. He collapses heavily. Surprisingly, they just leave with no recriminations, and miss the tears escaping the dead thing's eyes.

Although an enjoyable romp, there are a number of things which are odd about this story. The 'Giant man' asks Billy to call him ,father  and when Billy tells his mother it's the first inkling of the creature's nature. But when the Colossus - the last vestiges of her husband - dies she sheds no tears, as if she is merely an unconnected on-looker. Strange! Indeed, in the flickering lights movement of the carnage-laden climatic scene, no one  seems to be concerned about anyone else who has been struck down.

There are some nice  moments though; in particular the sound of sparking/crackling electricity that accompanies the heavy, stumbling walk of the Colossus. This sometime incorporates other people so they resemble 1920s flickering Keystone Cop movements. Which brings me to the music by Van Cleave. It's a very piano-oriented silent movie style, but it kind of works.

(original review Ty Power 2019) 

Lt Prescott is a test pilot who becomes the first man in the stratosphere. He disobeys orders and pushes the craft beyond its planned progress, but then needs to be talked down by a scientist. Chuck Prescott is not only his brother but his superior. He isn’t impressed when Dan wrecks the rocket plane and then disappears, to be found at his girlfriend’s apartment. At another test Dan again disobeys orders to turn, and presses on into space. He is caught in the tail dust of a passing comet, and just manages to return in the nose cone, landing by parachute. But there is no sign of the pilot when authorities arrive at the scene. 

In seemingly unrelated news, a nearby farm has found several animals slaughtered. A strange substance is discovered on the rocket nose cone but it defies analysis. A creature breaks into the Naval blood bank and a nurse is attacked. Shiny specs are found on the nurse and the slaughtered cattle. That night the creature attacks a man and steals his truck.  

Francesca, Dan’s girlfriend, is in medical research and has the results of the tests which show comet dust. A Mexican official (none other than Doctor Who’s first and best incarnation of the Master, Roger Delgado) arrives to complain about the fallen rocket and to seek recompense. The strange substance coating the rocket is guessed to be a protective layer to guard it from the rigours of space. But the coating actually applied itself in space. Why? They can only suppose that the coating has been applied to the pilot, too. That means the killer is Dan, and for some reason he needs blood to survive. 

An erratically driven car is stopped by the police, but the driver is the Dan creature, twisted and coated in a rock-like substance. Although he is shot at, he kills them both and moves on… to the Naval medical research centre, where Chuck and Francesca are theorising about Dan’s plight. The creature smashes into the room but goes straight past them. It appears to have difficulty breathing. The scientist who talked him down the first time gives instructions to lead it into the high altitude chamber. The controls can’t be operated, so Chuck goes in there, too. The altitude allows Dan to breathe more easily, and to think and talk rather than acting on instinct. The only way to help him would be to raise the atmosphere, but that would kill Chuck. So Dan says a few words to Francesca via the intercom and then dies so that Chuck can live.
 

The costume and make-up over the face and spacesuit is pretty good, showing one bulbous eye in the great tradition of monster B-Movies. You have to ask why Dan died even though the pressure had been upped, when he seemed quite happy stumbling around killing people at a normal ground level atmospheric pressure. 

As with atomic-related stories from this era, this one chooses the Unknown as the enemy – in this case, space itself. Hinting at the premise that tweaking the beard of the Unknown can open a veritable can of worms (to mix metaphors). 

(original review Ty Power 2019)  

A mapping expedition of Antarctica is arranged by navy officials. It is also to explore an ice-free warm water area in the region, filmed by an earlier expedition. Margaret Hathaway from the Oceanic Press is to accompany them. Amidst plenty of stock footage, a helicopter from the ship takes off and flies a recce over the ice-thick land. They spot and start to fly over the warm region, but receive warning from the ship of an approaching storm. The pilot finds a break in the storm and heads back. They enter an icy mist with very little visibility, and are clipped by something huge flying past. It affects the altitude control and they start to go down. They also lose communication with the ship. The temperature rises very quickly (it is only when this is mentioned that the four of them begin to feel warm and loosen their clothing). Far below what should be sea level they make an uneasy landing.
 

The humidity is oppressive. The chopper is damaged, so they take some supplies and find a place to sleep. But they are awoken by a loud shrieking noise. With no evidence except an unusual tree it is speculated about the region being from the Mesozoic period. A plane flies overhead looking for them, but the distance is too great and their helicopter’s battery power is low. They find water but there is a dead animal nearby. As they move away they are confronted with two giant lizards fighting each other. The victor splashes into the water, quickly disappearing. They realise why when a tyrannosaurus rex appears. Although it looks okay, the shape is all wrong, and it walks like it’s wearing fishing waders! They climb into the helicopter and throttle it up, hoping to scare the creature with the noise, but it’s only when one of the rotor blades slices into its skin that it backs away.
 

They hear a strange horn sound and speculate that whatever is making the noise is scaring the T-Rex away. Their supplies have been rifled through by what can only have been humanoids – except none existed in this age. When they are separated by the arrival of another giant lizard, Maggie is captured and carried off by a humanoid. Using the emergency dingy from the helicopter, they follow the trail of another boat and confront a man called Dr Carl Hunter, who has survived here for ten years. He offers to show them the wreckage of the crash that stranded him. It’s a possible way out if they replace the broken part on their own helicopter. The condition is that they leave the woman. They refuse and go in search of the wreck themselves. Maggie is caught by a tentacled plant, but is freed by Hunter who vanishes again.
 

To help the others – as their supplies are almost depleted – she takes the boat with the idea of giving herself up. However, a creature rises from the depths and only a shell blown like a horn distracts it. Hunter attempts to fend it off with fire and eventually it leaves. There is another confrontation, but their pilot is prevented from killing Hunter. Hunter relents and gives them a map to the wreck. They find the part they need and return to the chopper. Hunter helps Maggie get back. The helicopter takes off just as the T-Rex returns. Maggie is winched back inside, but the water monster appears and attacks Hunter, knocking him unconscious. They winch him up and ascend, where they are intercepted and rescued, but not before ditching into the sea when they run out of fuel.
 

The stars of this show are, of course, the dinosaurs. On the whole, they are realised pretty well on a very low budget. The sets are also very good, and much use is made of a relatively small area. As in many of these 1950s B-Movies, there is an immediate love interest. It normally involves the guy with the most authority and happens with very little reason or getting to know each other. This is no different, although his colleague is initially jealous. Overall, this is better than average entertainment. Watch out for the odd-looking T-Rex. 

(original review Ty Power 2019) 

Clark Kent and Lois Lane, reporter for The Daily Planet newspaper in Metropolis, arrive in the little town of Silsby for a story on the deepest oil well, only to find it has been shut down after reaching a depth of more than six miles. They are told the reason is classified. Rather than a wasted journey, Clark believes there might be something interesting going on. He and Lois return from their hotel to the site to look around, and discover the night watchman dead. While Lois is phoning for help she sees two humanoid but mole-like creatures looking through the window at her. When help arrives there is nothing to be seen.
 

The others leave but Clark remains with the man in charge of the drilling to wait for the coroner. He tells Clark about samples which were brought to the surface; they glowed with radium and contained living microscopic lifeforms. The man speculates that there could be other creatures down there which have come to the surface – and that is what Lois saw. They receive a phone call saying the pathologist turned over his car after seeing the two creatures on the road.
 

As a lynch mob from the town is about to leave, a scream is heard. The mole men have climbed through a window of a house and a little girl is attempting to talk to them. The ball they have been rolling back and forth begins to glow with radium where they have handled it. Clark makes the change to Superman and reaches the house before the mob. The little girl is alright, and the mole men have moved on. Superman attempts to tell the mob what they are doing is wrong. One of them attempts to attack him, without success. Superman bends his rifle in half, but the mob set off again. The mole men are trapped on top of the dam. Superman tells the mob not to shoot them; that they are radioactive. If they fall into the water it will become contaminated. The leader of the mob shoots Superman but the bullet simply bounces off.
 

However, while Superman is distracted one of the men shoots one of the creatures and it falls from the dam. Superman flies up and catches the mole man before it hits the water. The other mole man escapes but is hounded by men and dogs. It is finally cornered in a hut. The men place brush underneath and set it aflame. It escapes by lifting a floorboard and dropping underneath. It makes its way back to the drilling site and descends through the same hatch it emerged from. Where is Superman in all this time?
 

The sheriff makes the mistake of telling Benson (the mob leader) that Superman took the wounded mole man to hospital. Clark persuades a doctor to remove the bullet but, as Clark leaves the hospital with Lois, the mob arrives. Clark disappears, and Superman confronts the mob, removing their guns from them. More mole men emerge from the hatch with a weapon. Superman brings out their companion from the hospital. Benson appears and tries to shoot them, but the mole men turn the weapon on him. Superman steps in front of the weapon’s beam, thereby saving the man’s life. Superman carries the sick mole man and helps them return to the hatch at the drill site. As they leave, the mole men use the weapon to destroy the drill rig so that no one can ever reach them again.
 

The mole men wear hairy suits with the zip-up back showing. They have boiled egg heads with Spock eyebrows and a bit of side hair. They walk bent-over and often in single file (like moles in a tunnel underground). Although far from convincing, they do provide the viewer plenty of hilarity at their expense. There are a number of unexplained coincidences, where the plot takes over realism (such as it is in these movies). Clark Kent is a much more convincing character than Superman. If you look at any of the series, George Reeves looks fine as Kent but resembles a slightly podgy old man as the superhero. In this, Kent gives so many hints about his identity you would have to be brain dead not to realise.

(original review Ty Power 2019) 

In Guavos, Mexico, a man has lost his truck load of groceries. The young driver is in shock and cannot speak. A policeman takes the man to where the boy was found. There are tracks in the mud but no vehicle – it’s as though it has just disappeared (but we know better, don’t we readers?). In Los Angeles Joyce Manning sees a Mexican news item and contacts the man with the missing truck. She learns of the boy in shock and travels to Mexico and a bedside vigil. She, the policeman and a plutonium expert interested in the case, find a giant footprint and surmise that the Colossal Man, Glen Manning, has survived his fall from the dam and is heading for the mountains.

Joyce (his sister) and an army attempt to find more evidence before the big guns are brought in. They find a collection of wrecked food trucks which Manning has taken sustenance from, and get a glimpse of the giant which is 60 feet tall and has half of his face deformed. It is decided to bake large loaves of bread packed with enough sedatives to render him unconscious, and then drive a vehicle loaded with the bread towards the mountain. The bait is taken. Manning’s unconscious form is loaded aboard an aircraft. No US department feels equipped to deal with the ‘monster’ so he is temporarily secured in a hanger at the airport.

At this point we get a flashback from the first film – The Amazing Colossal Man – which not only brings the audience up to speed, but informs us that Mannering is now remembering his past. His rage breaks him free. All airforce jets are instructed to take off for safety, and Mannering is shot with tranquillisers again. His bindings are reinforced. The next step is to check the state of the giant’s mind via association tests. If his memory is stimulated he can be helped. But even with Joyce’s help he just gets frustrated and enraged. The plan is to ship him to a small island to live alone, but his instinct is to escape. ‘The Colossal Man is loose in Los Angeles.’

He is seen in Griffith Park, and the army’s mobile units are moved in. Spotlights are focused on the area; he is finally pinpointed. Manning doesn’t do much for the whole film apart from issue an ‘Arrggg!!’ now and again, but at this point he picks up a coach full of kids. Joyce drives into the restricted area to plead with her brother to put down the coach and try to think. He speaks his first word in this film: ‘Joyce.’ Then he wanders away to purposefully electrocute himself on the pylons. The Colossal Man is dead.
 

A nice touch is to have the picture change from black and white to colour at the point he is electrocuted amidst a cloud of sparks. Nevertheless, this is a simple rehash of The Amazing Colossal Man. During this period sequels were rare. It was not without reason. There was not enough money to do anything significantly different with the story. So it was seen as a way to make two films whilst reducing the overall cost. I watched this immediately after The Amazing Colossal Man, and so found the sequel a case of diminishing returns. 

(original review Ty Power 2018) 

A group of scientists embark on a boat trip to the Florida Everglades in an attempt to capture and study the infamous Creature From the Black Lagoon (or Gill Man, as they come to refer to it). However, there is already dissension in the ranks. Doctor Barton (Jeff Morrow), who leads the expedition, wants to practically dissect it for the purposes of medical experimentation and to ascertain how it breathes under water, in order to further space travel. Whereas another doctor is determined it should not be harmed, but only logged as a new species or missing evolutionary link. Further conflict comes in the form of Barton’s mistreatment of his wife, and her flirtatious manner in front of the other men. The Creature is tracked/leads the boat into its own territory where, cornered, it attacks its aggressors. After being stunned by a tranquilliser, it is accidentally engulfed in flame. Back in a lab, they discover that the Creature has lung tissue and that its massive burns have revealed somewhat humanoid characteristics. After it weakly attempts to escape, it is seen as the original monster certain individuals had condemned it as.  But events which follow prove that Barton is more of a monster...

This is the third and last of what became the Creature Trilogy. There are elements of this film which I love, and others I have little or no time for. The early underwater scenes featuring the Creature (played by Ricou Browning) are beautiful to behold – particularly now the picture quality has been lovingly restored. The concept for this sequel quickly moves from intelligent prehistoric fish to Frankenstein’s Monster. After the marvelously sculptured mask is abandoned for the moral tale of the misunderstood ‘monster,’ we witness situations which tell the audience that the Creature is essentially sound in its ‘human’ values. The scenes in the pen are quite revealing in this respect. When a mountain lion enters the electrified pen by climbing an extending tree limb and dropping down to attack a sheep, the Creature steps forward to protect it and kills the lion. This gives Barton an idea, so that when he kills one of his wife’s suitors he drags the body into the pen to make it look like the Creature was at fault. As in all these stories, it is the real monster of the piece who gets his final comeuppance.

Unfortunately, the plot line which really ties this film to its 1950s origins is the character of Marcia Barton (Leigh Snowden). She exists only as a possession of her husband, and really shouldn’t be present at all. It was no doubt obligatory to have an attractive female part for the men to gush over, but it is unnecessary here as it means that virtually every scene which doesn’t feature the Creature is taken-up with dreary dialogue surrounding her supposedly inescapable sexuality.

On the whole, though, this is a solid enough film. It ends on an ambiguity. It’s mentioned during the plot that the Creature’s gills have been badly burned, meaning it is obliged to breathe air, rather than oxygen through water. However, the final shot sees the Frankenstein’s monster version of the Creature walking back into the water – the only home it knows. But will the Creature drown, or have its gills repaired themselves? We’ll probably never know. 

(Review originally written by Ty Power for reviewgraveyard 2015)  

A remote Scottish inn is rudely awakened by the arrival of an escaped prisoner, who killed his wife. Doris at the inn is his ex-lover and protects him by announcing the man as a stranger. Other guests include Miss Preswick, a model hiding from a stalking ex-partner, and a journalist who, with a professor, is on the trail of a meteor which is supposed to have landed nearby. The latter two attempt to leave for a telephone in the next village (the inn's one is currently out of order), but the car refuses to start.

There is a strange loud noise and they all go outside to see what appears to be a flying saucer land (the simple model looks smooth in the first shot and positively shaky in the next; a little bit of editing wouldn't have gone amiss here). The flying saucer is red hot and no one can approach it. Bizarrely, they all go back inside, as if the excitement is over. The on-the-run villain, is recognised by the reporter. He runs away, but Doris hides the man in a storeroom. 

A woman dressed in black PVC emerges from the spaceship and kills the inn's handyman with a ray gun. Doris appears to be in a catatonic state of shock. The woman from the craft appears in the doorway of the inn and announces herself as Nyah, from Mars. She removes Doris from her hypnotism, and explains all too freely that this is her first visit to Earth. She was on a course for London, but a collision with a meteorite sent her off-course and to an unscheduled landing in the Highlands of Scotland.
 

There was a devastating war on Mars between the sexes, culminating in the development of the Perpetual Motion Chain Reaction Beam (eh?). Women became the rulers of Mars, but the men fell into decline - and now Nyah has come to take back some strong men to perpetuate the species. She threatens to prevent objection by freezing movement over a large area, in the same way she had frozen Doris.

Nyah returns to her ship, raising an invisible wall behind her. She then returns, taking the handful of people from the inn to just outside her spacecraft to perform a demonstration of power. It is a robot - and a pretty naff and clunky-looking one at that. It zaps a tree, making it disintegrate, and does the same with a truck. Our villain has climbed out of the storeroom window and is watching from the barn. He just manages to run before the robot disintegrates the barn, too. 

Nyah hypnotises him, and uses the opportunity to kidnap a young boy from the inn. The professor is invited to the ship to see wonders and powers beyond the imagination. But all she does is explain how her spaceship works. "We've done enough talking," says the reporter at the inn. Never a truer word spoken! He offers to exchange himself for the little boy. Nyah returns to the ship with the journalist , but when he attempts to control the robot, she threatens to kill them all. She decides to take a guide who can help her when the ship has repaired itself and travels to London. They draw lots to decide who is going. It falls to the reporter, but the prisoner goes instead. The ship takes off but explodes at high altitude. The professor had described the power source and the prisoner had sacrificed his life to save everyone else's, by causing the propulsion system to explode.

This is the one with the dominatrix; it's not just the attire, it's the whole demeanor. Had she placed a foot on a male character's chest, it would have sealed the deal. She portrays a very domineering Martian with very little to back it up. Her ray gun essentially does away with the need for a robot that pretty much achieves the same effect. But who doesn't like a silly robot in these films?

Devil Girl From Mars is a London Films (International) release from British Lion Films. It's clear that there is very little budget at play, as the story is very talky, and everything takes place in the inn (mostly in one room), and a few steps outside - like an Agatha Christie novel wherein the killer is among the potential victims. Rather than creating atmosphere through claustrophobia, however, this simply dulls-down the proceedings to the point of repetition . Nyah arrives at the inn, goes back to her ship, returns to the inn, goes back to her ship, returns to the inn, and goes back to her ship. Did I mention that she returns to the inn? And she does this many more times than I can do it justice here. Presumably, it keeps her fit, though. Each time, she appears dramatically framed in the open French windows, with the weird logic that if it looks good the first time, it will look even better after a dozen times. All that the guests at the inn had to do was lock the French windows and Nyah would have been stymied!

However, you can't apply logic to most 1950s Monster B-Movies. If Nyah had remained in her spacecraft until it had repaired itself, she could have carried on to London and bored them all to death. Instead, rather than taking the two young men at the inn and returning home, she chooses to tell them everything - thereby giving them information enough to defeat her.

Although placed straight, there are a couple of genuinely funny lines: "Come on. While we're still alive we might as well have a cup of tea." And particularly, "Mrs Jamieson, may I introduce our latest guest, Miss Nyah. She comes from Mars." "Och! That'll mean another bed."

(original review Ty Power 2020)  

An atomic submarine is on its maiden voyage when the crew pick up a large, dark shape closing on them fast. They also detect a strong radiation trace. When they finally surface and limp back to port, it is to discover a substance caught-up in the propellers.

Here, Commander Pete Matthews meets Professor Lesley Joyce, the Head of Marine Biology at the Institute of Oceanography. He feels an immediate attraction. The substance is found to be part of a huge octopus from the depths of Mindanao Deep, awakened and brought to the surface by recent atomic testing. The Navy Admiralty is informed but, initially, they don't take it too seriously. However, the creature attacks another vessel, leaving only a handful of survivors. When one of them tells his story he is carted-off to see the psychiatrist. Consequently, the others deny they saw anything.

Lesley Joyce and her associate Doctor John Carter are due to leave on a research trip, but when news of the attacked vessel reaches them the navy cancels their release. Lesley gets the full story from one of the survivors, and suddenly the search is on for the creature. Officially, the US Navy tells the world that they are carrying out exercises in the Pacific, but when the word gets out they are obliged to tell the truth. Any number of depth charges and aircraft fly-overs fail to locate the beast.

There is an incident at Harper's Cove; they find a car turned over and large circular prints in the sand. Curiously, Commander Matthews decides to go swimming for fish. All of the fish have been scared away from the area by the radioactive field surrounding the creature. The gigantic octopus makes another appearance that night, and they report on its direction. The coastal Pacific waters are mined and the nearby Golden Gate Bridge is closed as San Francisco waits for the imminent arrival of the behemoth.

A special torpedo is adapted to penetrate the monster and fragment, blowing it apart. The Commander and Professor Joyce drive to the bridge. Doctor John Carter is already there. The huge octopus is wrapped around the bridge and pulling it apart. Matthews saves Carter from being killed. The public is instructed to remain in their homes, but there is a certain amount of panic with rubber-neckers. The creature is in the docks area and destroying everything around it. Matthews commissions a submarine, taking Carter with him, but it is necessary to drive the creature back underneath the sea. The army achieves this using flame throwers.

It works . The submarine is able to successfully fire a torpedo into the octopus. However, the octopus grabs the submarine and it is stuck fast. Matthews dons his diving gear and shoots a harpoon at the creature. But he is injured. Carter goes out next and finds a sensitive area which makes the creature release its hold on the submarine. The two divers manage to flee the area as the torpedo is detonated. The creature is no more. But are there more of them out there?

This is one of those films which would be average at best if not for the fantastic stop-motion work of early effects supremo Ray Harryhausen. Quite frankly, the guy was a genius and I can't sing his praises highly enough. The plot itself is a generic one for this period: the military tracking and destroying a monster which has inadvertently been causing damage and loss of life. The budget was pretty low, but a step-up from the penny-pinching of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (which, ironically, was a much better movie).

Ray Harryhausen made some preliminary sketches of what he needed to achieve with his monster scenes, and then went to carefully study the rolling movements of octopuses to ensure that his model was as realistic as it was able to be. There is a long-standing joke among fans who say that the octopus only had five tentacles. This was true, but not through any mistake. Harryhausen had to construct what he could with the restraints of time and money, An octopus would never have all eight tentacles in the air at once, as it would need most of them for balance and movement in the water. As with all myths and legends, this one got further exaggerated to only four tentacles. Harryhausen, even by this time, had such a status that he was left alone by the film executives to weave his magic, sending periodic clips to show where he was at.

There are some nice extra features on this two-disc remastered DVD set: A Commentary by Ray Harryhausen and Visual Effects Artists Randell William Cook, John Brono and Arnold Kunert; David Schecter on the Film Music's Unsung Hero; A Present Day Look at Stop-Motion; A Digital Sneak Peek of It Came From Beneath the Sea...Again! Comic Book; Video Photo Galleries; and Original Ad Artwork.

The  best extra feature, however, is Remembering It Came From Beneath the Sea - Tim Burton Sits Down With Ray Harryhausen. Gothic director Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Batman, Mars Attacks!, and countless more) made a very good documentary film in 2011 (just two years before his death) called Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan. Here, he talks to the great man primarily about his three films Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (showing some of the models), 20 Million Miles to Earth, and this one - as all three had just been colourised. Burton asks Harryhausen if he agrees with the process, to which the latter replies that they would have been made in colour originally had they possessed a higher budget. I can understand Burton's question though, as I'm of the school that they should remain black and white if they were made that way. An advantage of this set though is that you get the choice of viewing either, and can even flick back and forth mid-movie.

(original review Ty Power 2020)