Tag Archives: horror

The Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for The Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960)The Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960) by #PhilTucker
w/#ScottPeters #LindaConnell

When a couple are killed in a car accident, their bodies are inhabited by aliens determined to sabotage the U. S. space program.

“You humans with your puny minds!
You must not learn the secrets of space!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

The Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960) begins with some balls of light flying around, and a disembodied voice saying “I told you we would find suitable bodies here…”

We see a man lying on a beach towel, and a woman running toward him from the water. He smokes a pipe as they put their clothes on. Then they get into a car and drive off…

…only to have a terrible car accident, which appears to kill them. But in a bizarre twist, they wake up and get out the car – leaving the man’s arm behind. He doesn’t seem terribly upset by this, but the woman says “I’ll take it and sew it back on in the laboratory…” Continue reading →

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 →

The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)

The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) by #BertIGordon
w/#GlennLangan #CathyDowns

After sustaining fatal radiation burns, an Army colonel miraculously heals & begins to grow larger.
“Savage Giant on a Blood-Mad Rampage!”
“Not even the U.S. Army can keep her away from the man she loved–but only the U.S. Army can save her from the monster he became!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I don’t think I ever saw The Amazing Colossal Man (1957) on late night TV when I was young – or any time since, for that matter. For some inexplicable reason I’ve seen the sequel, War of the Colossal Beast (1958), several times. Having seen photographs in magazines, and clips on TV (not to mention flashback scenes in War of the Colossal Beast), I’ve been wanting to see The Amazing Colossal Man for a long time. Last Friday I finally got my chance… Continue reading →

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

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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

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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 ever 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 →

Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954)Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954) by/#WyottOrdung
produced by #RogerCorman
w/#AnneKimbell #StuartWade

A woman sees a giant one-eyed amoeba rising from the ocean.

“Up from the forbidden depths comes a Tidal Wave Of Terror!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a big fan of Roger Corman. And that means that even though he didn’t direct Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954) – and only produced it – I am obligated to give it an automatic two-and-a-half star minimum. I am, of course, being a little silly. I don’t normally even assign star values to movies. But whenever I see Corman’s name on a film, I know I’m going to be having at least two-and-a-half stars worth of fun. And Monster from the Ocean Floor was no exception…  Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →