She Devil (1957) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for She Devil (1957)She Devil (1957) by #KurtNeumann
w/#MariBlanchard #JackKelly

Doctors save a dying woman with an experimental formula.

“GORGEOUS DEMON! They created an inhuman being who destroyed everything she touched!”

“The woman they couldn’t kill!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I can’t resist movies with titles like She Freak (1967), She Demons (1958), She-Monster  (1957), The She Creature (1956), and The Astounding She-Monster (1957). So how is it that I’d never seen She Devil (1957) before last week? This question becomes all the more bewildering when, upon watching the film, I discovered that it’s an absolute delight. It’s the most fun I’ve had at the home drive-in in weeks, I dare say.

Oh sure, you might counter. But you’re a She-movie aficionado. Is it really essential viewing for the rest of us? 

Let me tell you a bit about it, and maybe you can be the judge of that for yourself… Continue reading →

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Blood of the Vampire (1958) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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POster for Blood of the Vampire (1958)Blood of the Vampire (1958) by #HenryCass
w/#DonaldWolfit #VincentBall #BarbaraShelley

A wrongly convicted doctor is sent to a harsh institution where he assists the creepy warden conduct experiments with blood.

“No woman alive is safe from the most frightening fiend in the history of horror!”

“He begins where Dracula left off!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Blood of the Vampire (1958) is another horror film from 1958 which I had never heard of before. It’s directed by Henry Cass, who also made a film called The Hand (1960), which I wrote about a while back. That one was more of a film noir, or crime drama, than a horror film. Blood of the Vampire feels like a Hammer horror film at first, but as it goes along it starts to become more of a strange drama of sorts. But much like The Hand, it’s just offbeat enough to be a rather interesting watch… Continue reading →

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The Atomic Submarine (1959) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for The Atomic Submarine (1959)The Atomic Submarine (1959) by #SpencerGordonBennet
w/ #ArthurFranz #DickForan #BrettHalsey #JoiLansing

A nuclear submarine near the Arctic Circle encounters electrical storms, a UFO and lots of hairy tentacles.

“The Screen’s Spectacular Inferno of the Battle for Civilization!”
“When U.S.A. Killer Subs meet a ruthless power in the icy depths of a Polar Sea!”

#SciFi #Thriller
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

When I first came across The Atomic Submarine (1959), I was afraid that it might just be a simple story of a submarine crew that runs into technical trouble under the ocean somewhere. Not that this couldn’t be a compelling movie, but when I program an all night marathon at the home drive-in, I’m hoping to see some monsters or aliens, or something like that. Thankfully, The Atomic Submarine is about an alien invasion of sorts. This one doesn’t come from the skies, however. – it comes from under the water… Continue reading →

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Phantom from Space (1953) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Phantom from Space (1953)Phantom from Space (1953) by #WLeeWilder
w/ #TedCooper #NoreenNash #RandolphAnders

An alien lands in Santa Monica, but when pursued by authorities, he removes his spacesuit and reveals himself to be invisible.

“WHAT was he?”

“He came from a billion miles of space to meet the strangest destiny ever told!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Phantom from Space (1953) was directed by W. Lee Wilder, who made two other movies I have featured on a Friday Night At The Home Drive-In – The Snow Creature (1954), and Killers from Space (1954). The most interesting thing about those movies was that they were made by the brother of Hollywood legend Billy Wilder. Yes, Billy Wilder, the brilliant film director who made such classics as Sabrina (1954), Stalag 17 (1953) and Ace in the Hole (1951). The Snow Creature and Killers from Space both paled in comparison to ANYTHING that Billy Wilder made. So how does Phantom from Space do by comparison…?  Continue reading →

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The Unknown Terror (1957) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for The Unknown Terror (1957)The Unknown Terror (1957) by #CharlesMarquisWarren
w/#JohnHoward #MalaPowers

A millionaire leads an expedition into a remote jungle to find his wife’s long-lost brother, but instead the group finds a mad scientist making fungus people in the jungle.

“They enter the Cave of Death to explore the secrets of hell!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Last week I watched Back from the Dead (1957) and discovered that it was one of only two horror films made by Charles Marquis Warren. The Unknown Terror (1957) is the other one, and I just had to track it down and do a direct comparison… Continue reading →

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Back from the Dead (1957) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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POster for Back from the Dead (1957)Back from the Dead (1957)
AKA Bury Me Dead (1957) by #CharlesMarquisWarren
written by #CatherineTurney
w/#PeggieCastle #ArthurFranz #MarshaHunt

A woman is possessed by the evil spirt of her husband’s deceased first wife.

“Did she come back to LOVE or KILL?”

#Horror #Satanism
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Every now and then I am surprised to find myself watching a movie made in the 1950s – or early 1960s – that features satanism or satanic rituals. It’s a subject that seems more at home in the horror films of the 1970s. And yet there it is in The Devil’s Hand (1961) and The Devil’s Partner (1960), both of which I’ve talked about in this blog. Much to my surprise, it’s also an important part of Back from the Dead (1957).  Continue reading →

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Missile to the Moon (1958) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Missile to the Moon (1958)Missile to the Moon (1958) by #RichardECunha
w/#RichardTravis #CathyDowns #KTStevens

Escaped convicts hide in a rocket and wind up on the moon, where they find an all female society ruled by a sadistic queen.

“Lunar She-Devils Lure Earthmen Into Their Lair of Doom!”

“A Giant Fiendish Creature!”

#SciFi #Horror
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Watching Missile to the Moon (1958) last week, I was reminded that I recently said that Abbott and Costello Go To Mars (1953) is one of my favourite movies about alien women. I saw it on TV multiple times when I was a kid, and even though it doesn’t share the same stellar reputation, I loved it as much as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). I know that’s probably sacrilege, but I can’t help it. The movie spoke to me somehow.  Continue reading →

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Killers from Space (1954) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Killers from Space (1954) Killers from Space (1954) Strange creatures from another world attack planet earth! by #WLeeWilder
w/#PeterGraves #JamesSeay #BarbaraBestar

An atomic scientist claims he was abducted by aliens after being injured in a plane crash.

“Strange creatures from another world attack planet earth!”

“It’s a nuclear nightmare!”

#SciFi #Horror
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Killers from Space (1954) was directed by W. Lee Wilder, who made another movie I featured on a Friday Night At The Home Drive-In – The Snow Creature (1954). I recall two things about that movie; 1) it wasn’t very good, and 2) it was made by the brother of Hollywood legend Billy Wilder. Yes, Billy Wilder, the brilliant film director who made such classics as The Apartment (1960), Some Like It Hot (1959) and Sunset Boulevard (1950). The Snow Creature, of course, paled in comparison to ANYTHING that Billy Wilder had made. So how does Killers from Space do by comparison…? Continue reading →

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Stranger from Venus (1954) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Stranger from Venus (1954)Stranger from Venus (1954) by #BurtBalaban
w/#PatriciaNeal #HelmutDantine #DerekBond

A woman meets a man with no pulse who is here from Venus to warn Earth about the atom.

“When the Earth had Fourteen Seconds to Live!”

“There is no pulse. There are two possible explanations for this; I am drunk, or you are dead.”

#SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Last week I wrote about a weird British science fiction movie that was actually based on a play (!) and as a result was actually much better than I expected. This week I’m writing about another weird (albeit less weird) British science fiction film that wasn’t based on a play – but feels very much like it could have been. I am talking about Stranger from Venus (1954), directed by Burt Balaban.  Continue reading →

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Devil Girl from Mars (1954) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Devil Girl from Mars (1954)Devil Girl from Mars (1954) by #DavidMacDonald
w/#HughMcDermott #HazelCourt #AdrienneCorri

A leather-clad female alien, with a ray gun and a robot, comes to Earth to collect men for breeding.

“Invasion from Outer Space!…Sights too weird to imagine! Destruction too monstrous to escape!”

“Earth Menaced By Fantastic Powers”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Prior to last Friday, I had never seen Devil Girl from Mars (1954), and that is an oversight that I am very pleased to have corrected. It’s not rated very well (4.9 on the IMDb, and 24% on Rotten Tomatoes), so I didn’t expect anything extraordinary. Oh, how wrong I was… Continue reading →

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