Tag Archives: scientist

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: Kronos (1957)

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Poster for Kronos (1957)Kronos (1957) by #KurtNeumann
w/#JeffMorrow #BarbaraLawrence

An alien robot ravages the countryside intent on absorbing Earth’s energy.

“PLANET ROBBER TRAMPLES EARTH…STEALING ENERGY FOR OTHER WORLDS!”

“The Most Incredible MONSTER of All Time!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I saw Kronos (1957) on late night TV when I was young – and it’s tempting to believe it was on my favourite weekly showcase of old black and white monster movies, Not Quite Classic Theatre. But by the time I stumbled onto Kronos, Not Quite Classic Theatre had already gone to that great TV show graveyard in the sky… or, rather, off the air. One of my local TV stations decided to try their hand at a similar format, and I believe they called it The Killer B. I don’t think The KIller B lasted more than a few weeks, which is too bad because with Not Quite Classic Theatre gone, I really could have used something to take its place.   Continue reading →

Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: The Brain Eaters (1958)

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Poster for The Brain Eaters (1958)The Brain Eaters (1958) by #BrunoVeSota
w/#EdNelson #JodyFair #LeonardNimoy

Parasites from the centre of the earth take control of people’s minds.

“Crawling, slimy things terror-bent on destroying the world!”

“What are the parasites, where do they come from, what do they want from us?”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

It’s been a long week, and I’ve barely had enough sleep. I feel like the brain eaters have gotten to me. And what I mean by that, is that I feel like my brain is gone, or mostly gone, or not functioning properly. That’s what I would expect the brain eaters to do to a person; literally eat their brains. The brain eaters in The Brain Eaters (1958), however, don’t seem to do that. No, they seem to take control of the person’s brain, and by doing so, take control of their body. So, shouldn’t the movie be called The Brain Controllers, or The Body Controllers, or… something like that?  Continue reading →

Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)

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Poster for I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957) by #HerbertLStrock
w/#WhitBissell #PhyllisCoates

Professor Frankenstein creates a hulking teenager from the body of an accident victim – and it goes on a killing spree.

“Body of a boy! Mind of a monster! Soul of an unearthly thing!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

As I may have mentioned before, I’m a big fan of Blood of Dracula (1957). Not sure why it appeals to me so much, but it does. Nostalgia plays a big part, I’m sure. But there’s also something about it that just works for me. It was made very shortly after I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957), and was meant to cash in on the former movies’s success. Well, guess what? I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957) was also rushed into production because of I Was A Teenage Werewolf, and both movies were produced by Herman Cohen. They were also sent out together as a double feature. So how is it that I never saw I Was a Teenage Frankenstein before last Friday? Continue reading →

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

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Poster art for The Hideous Sun Demon (1958)The Hideous Sun Demon (1958) by #RobertClarke
w/#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: Night of the Blood Beast (1958)

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Poster for Night of the Blood Beast (1958)Night of the Blood Beast (1958) by #BernardLKowalski
produced by #GeneCorman
executive producer: #RogerCorman
w/#MichaelEmmet #AngelaGreene

An astronaut is killed on reentry to Earth, but his body is seeded with rapidly gestating aliens. 

“No girl was safe as long as this head-hunting thing roamed the land!”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

As anyone who knows me can attest, I am a fan of Roger Corman. He was the executive producer of Night of the Blood Beast (1958), but it was his brother, Gene Corman, who wore the main producer’s hat. They made a number of films together. If memory serves me correctly, Roger brought his brother Gene into the business. Roger, of course, would go on to produce more than 500 films. Gene only did about 36, but that’s still more than most of us will ever do. Continue reading →