Dino-Men

 

 

 (imdb)

UNKNOWN ISLAND-1948-A guy Ted (Phillip Reed) and his fiancé' Carole (Virginia Grey), hired a boat from a tough hardnosed but fairly intelligent captain (Barton McLane; TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE the same year)) and his first mate (Dick Wessell; DICK TRACY VS. CUEBALL (1946)). They want to go to an uncharted island where the guy says dinosaurs still exist. They take along Baxter (Richard Denning), a guy who drinks a lot because he was once on the island. They shove off despite Baxter's warnings and the native crew unsuccessfully tries to mutiny. 

Landing on the island they encounter many prehistoric beasts including Brontosaurs, a T-Rex and a red-haired ape-like creature (uncredited Crash Corrigan). It becomes obvious that Ted cares more about photographing the prehistoric wildlife than anyone's life, including Carole's. Then just when everyone is ready to leave the captain announces he plans to capture the T-Rex alive. The group find a "dinosaur graveyard" and are attacked and the first mate is killed. Later the native crew steal the rowboat, but they all drown. The captain comes down with jungle fever and accidentally burns their supplies. He later kidnaps Carole but Baxter saves her and the captain is killed by the ape who then battles a T-Rex. The survivors make it to the boat and Baxter's heroics win Carole's heart.

 (imdb)

 Terribly cheap color production directed by Jack Bernhard with men in dino costumes, rear projection action and studio jungle sets. Star Virginia Grey had quite a career. She worked with Laurel & Hardy, The Marx Brothers, Abbott & Costello, Rondo Hatton, Johnny Weissmuller and started her career playing Eva in the 1927 version of UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. She and co-star Richard Denning were later in the seldom seen SF film TARGET EARTH in 1954. Co-star Phillip Reed's last role was HARUM SCARUM (1965) with Elvis Presley.

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Go Ape On Mexico!

NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES-1969-A woman named Lucy (Laura Lazareno) is a red masked pro wrestler. During a match she throws her opponent out of the ring and an ambulance has to be called. Meanwhile a doctor and his assistant go to a zoo and drug and capture a gorilla. The injured wrestler needs an operation and a specialist Dr. Krallman (Jose' Elias Moreno) is called in. The same guy who drugged the gorilla. He has a bed ridden son Julio (Augstin M. Solares) and his assistant Goyo (Carlos Lopez Moctezuma) calls him “master”so you know he's up to no good. When Krallman is told his son’s days are numbered he decides to transplant the gorilla’s heart into Julio’s body and then give him the gorilla's blood. It’s a bloody operation. 

Lucy’s policeman/boyfriend Martinez (Armando Silvestre) and his force search for the missing gorilla. After Martinez has to stand Lucy up to meet with his boss, Julio turns into an ape man, escapes and kills a woman. He's recapture and the doc decides that maybe a gorilla's heart wasn't such a good idea (gee..ya think?). It's better if they get a new living human heart and put it in Julio. The reluctant donor is the comatose wrestler Lucy fought! While the duo goes to get their “donor”, Julio the ape man escapes again. He tears out a guy’s throat while his girlfriend runs away conveniently tearing the top of her dress off. He rapes the woman (not shown), stabs a good Samaritan and plucks a passerby’s eye out! Then he’s recaptured. The doc who besides being nuts is also head of the hospital reprimands his staff for losing their patient and the toady doctors all agree to a cover-up. Meanwhile through fingerprints, Martinez proposes that the killer isn't a gorilla but some kind of man beast hybrid (good guess!). His boss thinks he has been watching too many “movies of horror”. Later Julio changes back into man but while the doc is out he becomes the man beast again and kills Goyo. Doc confronts his son but trips and hits his head. 

Julio goes prowling and kills a policeman (he scalps him) and then chases Lucy into a park. Martinez goes after them but so does the doc. Julio and Martinez fight and Julio turns into his old self. They are both taken to a hospital where Julio once again transforms and kills a doctor and a nurse. He then grabs a sick little girl and heads for the roof. Martinez and dad follow and the doc convinces sonny to give up the child. He/it is then fatally shot by the cops below. Dad loses his mind. 

Mindlessly bloody sleaze with real gory footage of open heart surgery. Mad scientist portrayer Jose' Elias Moreno had the lead as jolly old St. Nick in the Mexican made SANTA CLAUS in 1959!, which was directed by BLOODY APES director Rene Cordona who had a prolific career as a director and actor in Mexico (and a son who became a director).

Calling Prof. Quatermass!

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT-1958-This is the third Professor Quatermass serial produced by the BBC. Despite a lot of talk and non-action it's very well done. In a London district, an archeological dig led by Prof. Roney (Cec Linder; Felix Leiter in GOLDFINGER) find evidence of a new hominid and later discover a huge metallic object. 

Roney brings in his friend Prof. Quatermass (Andre Morell) to investigate. Quatermass' war department nemesis the pompous Colonel Breen (Joseph Bushell who later directed TERROR OF THE TONGS for Hammer) gets involved as well. 

When an air tight compartment in the object is finally opened a bunch of dead insect like creatures are found. This leads Quatermass to the theory that the creatures are from Mars and 5 million year ago they came to Earth and experimented on early man! Of course the government will have none of it. A haunted house, telekinesis, ancient myths and a weird machine that can record “visual impressions inside the brain” all figure into this ambitious ahead of it's time story which if it sounds familiar was later re-made by Hammer as the full length film 20 MILLION YEARS TO EARTH. The final speech by Quatermass really rings true!

Also with Christine Finn (the voice of “Tin-Tin” on THE THUNDERBIRDS) & John Stratton. Michael Ripper portrays a army sergeant in the first five segments. Morrell was in THE GIANT BEHEMOTH around this time and played Dr. Watson to Peter Cushing's Sherlock Holmes in Hammer's THE HOUND OF THE BASERVILLES in 1959. 

 

Screenwriter Nigel Kneale had written the feature length film ENEMY FROM SPACE (where American actor Brian Donlevy was the professor) in 1957 and later did screenplays for movies like LOOK BACK IN ANGER, THE ENTERTAINER and FIRST MEN IN THE MOON. Director Rudolph Cartier had a long career in BBC TV.

 

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