Tag Archives: 1950s

Friday night at the home drive-in: The Neanderthal Man (1953)

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Poster for The Neanderthal Man (1953) The Neanderthal Man (1953) by #EwaldAndréDupont
w/#RobertShayne #JoyceTerry #BeverlyGarland

A scientist regresses a cat to sabre-tooth tiger and a man to Neanderthal.

“What mad desires drove him on…?”

“The world’s gone completely mad. Sometimes I think I’m the only rational being left in it…”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Lately I’ve been watching a lot of monster movies made in the late 1950s. 1957 and 1958 were both particularly good years for mad scientists and giant mutant beasts. The trend continued through 1959 and into the 1960s, with plenty of good sci-fi horror films still left to come. I was surprised to discover that The Neanderthal Man (1953) predated all of those great movies by several years. And yet it feels very much like it’s part of the set.

I suppose it’s like Black Christmas (1974) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) coming out four years before the slasher genre officially kicked off with Halloween (1978). But unlike Black Christmas (1974) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Neanderthal Man Is not a well remembered and loved fan favourite. In fact, I don’t think I had ever heard of it before I first watched it a few years ago. And soon afterwards I forgot that I’d ever seen it. Considering that I seem to be obsessed with 1950s horror and sci-fi movies right now, I figured it was high time that I checked out The Neanderthal Man again. Continue reading →

Friday night at the home drive-in: The She-Creature (1956)

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Poster for The She-Creature (1956)The She-Creature (1956) by #EdwardLCahn
w/ #ChesterMorris #CathyDowns #MarlaEnglish

A hypnotist reverts a woman into a prehistoric sea monster.

“It can and did happen! Based on the authentic FACTS you’ve been reading about!”

“I can transport her from what she is to what she was.”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Legend has it that Peter Lorre was so appalled by the script for The She-Creature (1956) that he immediately fired his agent for trying to convince him to play a part in it. I have no idea if this is true, but it’s a great story – and perhaps a great introduction to this somewhat lesser known monster movie from 1956.  Continue reading →

Friday night at the home drive-in: The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)

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The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) by #ArnoldLaven

w/#TimHolt #AudreyDalton

An earthquake awakens century-old giant mollusks in the Salton Sea.

“Crawling up from the depths.. to terrify and torture!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) goes way back for me. I may have seen it on Not Quite Classic Theatre, I’m not sure. But I definitely saw it on TV when I was young. 

It’s about an earthquake that releases a bunch of giant mollusks from the bottom of the Salton Sea. I guess they’re pretty hungry after a hundred years of hibernation, because they start eating people left, right and centre. Scientists and soldiers from the nearby military base must do everything they can to stop these beasts before they eat everyone on the planet… or something like that. Continue reading →