Attack of the Puppet People (1958) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

Poster for Attack of the Puppet People (1958)Attack of the Puppet People (1958) by #BertIGordon
w/
#JohnAgar #JohnHoyt #JuneKenney

A lonely, deranged doll maker invents a way to shrink people and turn them into living dolls.

“Terror Comes In Small Packages!”

“Doll dwarfs versus the crushing giant beats!” (huh??)

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I’ve written about a number of movies by Bert I. Gordon, but Attack of the Puppet People (1958) isn’t one of them. How have I never seen this movie before? It’s the kind of delightful B-movie that I used to love watching late at night on Not Quite Classic Theatre all those years ago. Continue reading

King Dinosaur (1955) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

POSTER FOR King Dinosaur (1955)King Dinosaur (1955) by #BertIGordon
w/
#WilliamBryant #WandaCurtis

When a new planet appears near Earth, four scientists are sent to explore it.

“SEE…A prehistoric world of fantastic adventure come to life!”

“Terrifying! Fantastic! Startling!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn 

I’ve mentioned the name Bert I. Gordon several times on this blog. He was best known as a producer, writer, director of Sci-Fi and Horror features. He also sometimes worked as an editor, special effects guy, and even a cinematographer. King Dinosaur (1955) was the first film he every directed, which makes it somewhat historically significant to fans of his work and B-movies in general. Unfortunately, that may be the only thing that makes it significant.  Continue reading

Friday night at the home drive-in: War of the Colossal Beast (1958)

War of the Colossal Beast (1958) by #BertIGordon

w/#SallyFraser #RogerPace #DuncanDeanParkin

Believed dead after falling from the Hoover Dam, the Amazing Colossal Man reemerges in rural Mexico, brain damaged, disfigured, and very hungry – where he steals food delivery trucks to survive.

“The towering terror from Hell”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I’m pretty sure that I saw The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) at some point. In fact, I think I watched it on TV many years ago – perhaps on Not Quite Classic Theatre. For some reason, I have not seen it in recent years. I’m surprised to learn that I don’t have a copy lurking somewhere in my collection. 

I do, however, have a copy of its sequel, War of the Colossal Beast (1958). It’s part of a Samuel Z. Arkoff Collection double feature DVD that I picked up a few years ago. I love those double feature DVDs. One does have to wonder, however, why they didn’t put these two movies together?! It seems like a no-brainer idea to me. What a perfect, ready-made double feature. As far as I can tell, they never even released The Amazing Colossal Man in any of their sets. Maybe there was a rights issue, or something, Who knows? Continue reading

Friday night at the home drive-in: Earth vs the Spider (1958)

Poster for Earth vs the Spider (1958)Earth vs the Spider AKA The Spider AKA Earth vs the Giant Spider (1958) by #BertIGordon w/#EdKemmer #JuneKenney #EugenePersson

Teenagers & their high school science teacher join forces to battle a giant mutant spider.

“50 TONS OF CREEPING BLACK HORROR!”

“Bullets Won’t Kill It! Flames Can’t Hurt It! Nothing Can Stop It!

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I seem to be in a real 1958 mood lately. My home drive-in has been screening movies from that year, or thereabouts, for a couple of months now. Perhaps it’s an attempt to teleport back to an earlier, more innocent, time of my life. Not that I was alive in 1958. That would make me about as old as I feel. No, but I watched a lot of movies from 1958, or thereabouts, in the 1980s on my favourite weekly television event – Not Quite Classic Theatre. Continue reading