Tag Archives: Science Fiction

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 →

Missile to the Moon (1958) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Missile to the Moon (1958)Missile to the Moon (1958) by #RichardECunha
w/#RichardTravis #CathyDowns #KTStevens

Escaped convicts hide in a rocket and wind up on the moon, where they find an all female society ruled by a sadistic queen.

“Lunar She-Devils Lure Earthmen Into Their Lair of Doom!”

“A Giant Fiendish Creature!”

#SciFi #Horror
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Watching Missile to the Moon (1958) last week, I was reminded that I recently said that Abbott and Costello Go To Mars (1953) is one of my favourite movies about alien women. I saw it on TV multiple times when I was a kid, and even though it doesn’t share the same stellar reputation, I loved it as much as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). I know that’s probably sacrilege, but I can’t help it. The movie spoke to me somehow.  Continue reading →

Killers from Space (1954) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Killers from Space (1954) Killers from Space (1954) Strange creatures from another world attack planet earth! by #WLeeWilder
w/#PeterGraves #JamesSeay #BarbaraBestar

An atomic scientist claims he was abducted by aliens after being injured in a plane crash.

“Strange creatures from another world attack planet earth!”

“It’s a nuclear nightmare!”

#SciFi #Horror
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Killers from Space (1954) was directed by W. Lee Wilder, who made another movie I featured on a Friday Night At The Home Drive-In – The Snow Creature (1954). I recall two things about that movie; 1) it wasn’t very good, and 2) it was made by the brother of Hollywood legend Billy Wilder. Yes, Billy Wilder, the brilliant film director who made such classics as The Apartment (1960), Some Like It Hot (1959) and Sunset Boulevard (1950). The Snow Creature, of course, paled in comparison to ANYTHING that Billy Wilder had made. So how does Killers from Space do by comparison…? Continue reading →

Stranger from Venus (1954) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Stranger from Venus (1954)Stranger from Venus (1954) by #BurtBalaban
w/#PatriciaNeal #HelmutDantine #DerekBond

A woman meets a man with no pulse who is here from Venus to warn Earth about the atom.

“When the Earth had Fourteen Seconds to Live!”

“There is no pulse. There are two possible explanations for this; I am drunk, or you are dead.”

#SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Last week I wrote about a weird British science fiction movie that was actually based on a play (!) and as a result was actually much better than I expected. This week I’m writing about another weird (albeit less weird) British science fiction film that wasn’t based on a play – but feels very much like it could have been. I am talking about Stranger from Venus (1954), directed by Burt Balaban.  Continue reading →

Devil Girl from Mars (1954) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Devil Girl from Mars (1954)Devil Girl from Mars (1954) by #DavidMacDonald
w/#HughMcDermott #HazelCourt #AdrienneCorri

A leather-clad female alien, with a ray gun and a robot, comes to Earth to collect men for breeding.

“Invasion from Outer Space!…Sights too weird to imagine! Destruction too monstrous to escape!”

“Earth Menaced By Fantastic Powers”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Prior to last Friday, I had never seen Devil Girl from Mars (1954), and that is an oversight that I am very pleased to have corrected. It’s not rated very well (4.9 on the IMDb, and 24% on Rotten Tomatoes), so I didn’t expect anything extraordinary. Oh, how wrong I was… Continue reading →

Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) by #EdwardLCahn
w/#StevenTerrell #GloriaCastillo #FrankGorshin

Diminutive alien invaders run into teenage opposition when they land in a rural lovers’ lane.

“CREEPING HORROR…from the depths of time and space!”

“SEE teenagers vs. the saucer men!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Another in the long list of late 1950s sci-fi horror films that I may have seen as a kid on Not Quite Classic Theatre – but probably didn’t – is Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957). It would have fit in nicely with many of the other films, except for one thing: its tone is more deliberately comical. The basic joke at the heart of it seems to be that the alien invasion is foiled by unassuming teenagers – not the military, who are more or less fumbling around in the dark and unable to do anything. Continue reading →

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) by #NathanJuran
w/#WilliamHopper #JoanTaylor
VFX by #RayHarryhausen

“A Satellite Soared Into Space – And Returned With a Cargo of Terror!”

“Space-Monster Runs Amok on Earth!”

“Thousands Flee in Terror Before the Death-Dealing Monster from Outer Space!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) is a movie I’ve known about for a long time. I’ve read about in books, seen mention of it in articles, perhaps even heard people talk about it from time to time. But until a week and two days ago, I had never actually seen it. A week and two days? What the…? Don’t I usually write about my experiences at the home drive-in exactly one week later?  Continue reading →

Cosmic Monsters (1958) – Friday Night At The Home Drive-In

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Poster for Cosmic Monsters (1958)The Strange World of Planet X /
Cosmic Monsters (1958) by #GilbertGunn
w/#ForrestTucker #GabyAndré

A friendly visitor from outer space warns against conducting experiments with the Earth’s magnetic field, that could mutate insects into giant monsters.

“Shock by incredible shock this ravaging death overruns the earth…menacing mankind with overwhelming chaos!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

What can I say about Cosmic Monsters (1958) AKA The Strange World of Planet X? I had never heard of it before last week, and probably for good reason. It strikes me as an attempt to recapture the magic of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Both movies have (basically) the same premise: an alien comes to Earth to warn us to stop doing something stupid that will lead to our destruction. However, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a stone cold classic directed by Robert Wise, who made fan favourites like The Haunting (1963), Born to Kill (1947) and The Body Snatcher (1945).

Cosmic Monsters, on the other hand, is a mostly forgettable film directed by Gilbert Gunn, who also made, uh… Tyneside Story (1943)… Girls at Sea (1958)… and What a Whopper (1961)..?  Hmmm… not even another SciFi Horror film, I don’t think. Continue reading →

Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: The Magnetic Monster (1953)

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Poster for The Magnetic Monster (1953)The Magnetic Monster (1953) by #CurtSiodmak
w/#RichardCarlson #KingDonovan #JeanByron

A new radioactive element begins to absorb all of the Earth’s energy.

“The astounding story of the “thing” that came alive!”

“It’s hungry! It has to be fed constantly – or it will reach out its magnetic arm and grab at anything within its reach and kill it. It’s monstrous, Stewart, monstrous. It grows bigger and bigger!”

#Horror #SciFi #NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

The Magnetic Monster (1953) is the first movie in a trilogy produced by Ivan Tors; the so called “Office of Scientific Investigation” (OSI) trilogy. The other two films in the series are Riders to the Stars (1954) – which I’ve never heard of – and Gog (1954), which I have in my collection (my 3D blu-ray collection!). Continue reading →