Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: The Hideous Sun Demon (1958)

Poster art for The Hideous Sun Demon (1958)The Hideous Sun Demon (1958) by #RobertClarke
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#PatriciaManning #NanPeterson

Due to radiation, a scientist becomes a murderous lizard when he’s exposed to sunlight.

“The Blaze Of The Sun Made Him A Monster!”

“Thermodynamic horror from outer space!”

“Whiskey and soda mix, not whiskey and science.”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

The Hideous Sun Demon (1958) was produced, directed, and cowritten by its star, Robert Clarke. Technically, he co-directed (according to the IMDb) with a guy named Tom Boutross, but it looks like Boutross didn’t ever direct much else (just some TV episodes many years later), so I will assume that Robert Clarke was pretty much in charge on the set. Most of Boutross’ credits were as an editor, and he edited The Hideous Sun Demon, in fact. So perhaps he influenced the finished product so much that Clarke credited him as a co-director. Who knows? Continue reading

Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: Beyond the Time Barrier (1960)

Beyond the Time Barrier (1960) by #EdgarGUlmer
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#RobertClarke #DarleneTompkins

A military test pilot lands in a post-apocalyptic future.

“Trapped! … in the incredible cosmic world that moves 100 years beyond time!”
”A Spectacle of the World of Tomorrow! Fantastic Sights to Stagger the Imagination”

#SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Beyond the Time Barrier (1960) Is another entertaining low budget science fiction movie by Edgar G. Ulmer. It’s probably not quite as good as The Man from Planet X (1951), but it’s a cut above many other movies in the genre.  Continue reading

Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: The Man from Planet X (1951)

The Man from Planet X (1951) by #EdgarGUlmer
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#RobertClarke #MargaretField

An alien from a mysterious planet uses hypnotic powers to enslave a Scottish island.

“The WEIRDEST Visitor the Earth has ever seen!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

The Man from Planet X (1951) is a fairly serious minded SciFi movie – not unlike The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). The fact that they were both released in 1951 is interesting to me. The Day the Earth Stood Still Is by far the better movie, but The Man from Planet X is solidly above average. It’s said that Steven Spielberg took the idea of an alien communicating through music from this movie and used it in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). If that’s true, it’s an impressive legacy of influence for Edgar G. Ulmer’s low budget B-movie.  Continue reading