Tag Archives: Fred F. Sears

The Night the World Exploded (1957) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for The Night the World Exploded (1957)The Night the World Exploded (1957) by #FredFSears
w/#KathrynGrant #WilliamLeslie

Scientists locate the epicentre of earthquake activity and find an explosive ore is working its way up from the depths of Earth.

“Super-quake tilts the earth!”:

“I am a scientist, I guess, but I’m a woman, too.”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

The Night the World Exploded (1957) begins with a scientist named Dr. Conway building a machine that somehow measures pressure and/or predicts things like earthquakes. He finishes it just in time to get a reading predicting a massive earthquake in the next 24 hours. He and his colleague, Dr. Morton, rush off to the capital city, where they try to warn the governor and convince him to evacuate one million people from the city. The governor doesn’t go for it because there’s no proof that these guys are right…

Of course the earthquake happens, and thousand die. But that’s not the worst of it. According to the machine, there are going to be several more earthquakes all over the world. And even THAT’s not the worst of it. Apparently the entire planet has already been knocked off of its axis by the first earthquake.

Something bad is clearly happening, but Drs Conway and Morton have no idea what it is. So they, along with beautiful scientist Laura “Hutch” Hutchinson, set out to find some answers… Continue reading →

Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) by #FredFSears
w/#HughMarlowe #JoanTaylor

After destroying recently launched satellites, aliens contact an earth scientist and demand a meeting.
“The Battle of Your Lifetime!”
“When an armed and threatening power lands uninvited in our capitol, we don’t meet him with tea and cookies!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

A lot of big names were involved in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956). The executive producer was Sam Katzman. The screen story was by Curt Siodmak, who was probably best known for writing The Wolfman (1941). And perhaps most significantly, the special effects were done by Ray Harryhausen. It’s probably no surprise that Earth vs. the Flying Saucers would turn out to be a cut above the average 1950s science fiction horror B-movie. Continue reading →

Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: The Werewolf (1956)

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The Werewolf (1956) by #FredFSears
w/#DonMegowan #JoyceHolden

When a stranger with amnesia appears, a small town Sheriff comes to believe he is dealing with a werewolf.

“Scientists turn men into beasts!”
“It happens before your horrified eyes!”

“The horror of all mankind terrifies the screen!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

The Werewolf (1956) is a historically significant horror film because it is the first to feature a werewolf that is non-supernatural. The beast in this movie is pure science fiction, having been created by a couple of doctors conducting experiments. Continue reading →

Friday night at the home drive-in: The Giant Claw (1957)

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Poster for The Giant Claw (1957)The Giant Claw (1957) by #FredFSears w/#JeffMorrow #MaraCorday

produced by #SamKatzman

A UFO turns out to be a giant prehistoric bird with an appetite for airplanes.

“Winged Monster from 17,000,000 B.C.! Big as a Battleship! Flies 4 Times the Speed of Sound! Atomic Weapons Can’t Hurt It!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

The first thing that I noticed when I watched The Giant Claw (1957), is that it’s a lot like The Deadly Mantis (1957) – at least at first. So much so, that I found myself thinking “Didn’t I just write about this a few months back?”

Both movies sort of begin in Canada, at the DEW Line – or Distant Early Warning Line. This was a system of radar stations in the arctic that would be able to detect nuclear missiles (or any other attack) coming from the U.S.S.R. and heading for the U.S.A.. In both movies, the DEW Line seems to be manned by U.S. military people. In reality, I think it was a mix of U.S. and Canadian personnel, but I don’t really know a lot about it. Continue reading →