Tag Archives: Sam Katzman

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: Zombies of Mora Tau (1957)

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Poster for Zombies of Mora Tau (1957)Zombies of Mora Tau (1957) by #EdwardLCahn
w/#GreggPalmer #AllisonHayes

A fortune hunter leads a search for diamonds guarded by undead sailors off the coast of Africa.

“TERROR ON THE AFRICAN VOODOO COAST”

“Human in Shape Only!”

“A Tide of Terror Floods the Screen!”

#Horror #Zombies
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

When I was kid, I dreamed of searching for – and finding – lost treasure. My dad had some old geology maps that showed where all of the gold, silver, and copper deposits were located. I imagined one day travelling to those shiny red dots and digging for gold.

I also read an article in the newspaper about treasure hunters who searched old abandoned houses and found jars of silver coins buried under the floorboards. I added this activity to my future to do list.

I also went to the library and took out books about famous pirates. I carefully studied the reproductions of old hand drawn maps that showed where they had buried their stolen treasure. One day I would solve the mystery, I vowed, and find Blackbeard’s lost fortune.

Sadly, I never did any of those things. And I probably should have – because, truth be told, they would have been just as likely to lead to success as anything else I tried. But then again, who knows what kind of unearthly horrors I might have uncovered…? Continue reading →

Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: Creature With the Atom Brain (1955)

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Poster for Creature With the Atom Brain (1955)Creature With the Atom Brain (1955) by #EdwardLCahn
w/#RichardDenning #AngelaStevens

An ex-Nazi mad scientist uses radio-controlled atomic-powered zombies in his quest to help an exiled American gangster return to power.

“Terror true to science, based on laboratory experiments described in national magazines!”

“You Won’t Believe Your Eyes!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema

Creature With the Atom Brain (1955) was produced by Sam Katzman. The last movie I wrote about that he produced was The Giant Claw (1957), which is a masterpiece of #NotQuiteClassicCinema – “the best of the worst” as some people have said – I’ll simply say that I loved it. Creature With the Atom Brain, on the other hand, is actually pretty good. Surprisingly serious and effective, in a way. This could be because it was written by Curt Siodmak, who is perhaps most famous for writing The Wolf Man (1941). 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 →