Who Got The Power?

 

 (imdb)

THE POWER-1968-A space project on human endurance to test how much pain future astronauts can endure is run by Dr. Tanner (George Hamilton). Washington representative Arthur Nordland (Michael Rennie) comes to check things out. He meets the whole team: Prof. Melnicker (Nehemiah Persoff), biologist Prof. Scott (Earl Holliman), genetics Prof. Margery Lansing (Suzanne Pleshette) and eccentric anthropologist Prof. Hallson (Arthur O'Connor), headed by Prof. Van Zandt (Richard Carlson}. Hallson says that based on his findings someone in the committee has an extraordinary power. They really don't believe him but later he's killed by some invisible force. His wife (Yvonne DeCarlo) is pretty upset. Detective Corlane (Gary Merrill) investigates. 

Almost immediately Tanner suspects someone on their committee is responsible. But suddenly Tanner is fired because his background appears to be phony. After having a bad time on a merry go round, he goes to the hometown of Prof. Hallson to discover who the mysterious Adam Hart is. Along the way he meets gas station attendant Bruce (Aldo Ray) and a waitress (Barbara Nichols) and Hallson's parents (Celia Lovsky and Vaughan Taylor). Then Bruce gives him a ride and strands him in the desert. Things get worse when he seeks shelter where the Air Force does target practice. Later he visits Mrs. Hallson, now a drunken floozy who can't remember what Hart looked like. When he goes to visit Margery, he's attacked by Prof. Melnicker, who knows someone is trying to kill them. They are invited to a party by a guy (Ken Murray) and after much useless partying Melnicker dies. They visit Norland who seems to be attacked but lives. Now Tanner suspects Van Zandt. While snooping at Van Zandt's house, a force tries to kill him. After Scott is killed by the police, Tanner has a showdown with the real killer, Nordland, where it's revealed who has the real power. Forrest J. Ackerman has a cameo as a hotel clerk. 

THE POWER is an interesting Sci-Fi movie that keeps you guessing for a while and features a good cast. It was the penultimate film produced by George Pal (WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS) and the last directed by Byron Haskin (WAR OF THE WORLDS, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON). According to Haskin MGM “sabotaged the film” because they wanted to be done with Pal.

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To The Moon

 

 (themoviedatabase)

FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON-1958-Florida 1868: The International Armament Club, a group whose members profited by making weapons for both sides during the Civil War are about listen to Victor Barbicane (Joseph Cotton) explain that he's invented Power X, an explosive so devastating it's too powerful to detonate on Earth! He plans to shoot a projectile to the moon and test it. Meanwhile industrialist and southern sympathizer Nicholl (George Sanders) wants to stop Barbicane from destroying the world. He has created a metal that could be used to send the explosive to the moon. He agrees to build a casing only because he thinks it will fail. President Grant (Morris Ankrum) tells Barbicane he must not send a charge to the moon because 22 nations see it as an act of war. He gives up Power X and everyone hates him. He breaks with his colleagues (Henry Daniel, Patrick Knowles and Ludwig Stossel) but his assistants (Carl Esmond and Don Dubbins) stand by him. With Nicholl's help, Barbicane wants to go to the moon and back. To slow things down, Ben (Don Dubbins) romances Nicholl's daughter, Virginia (Debra Paget). With Nicholl's help, he, Barbicane and Ben man a rocket into space with Virginia as a stowaway but the flight seems doomed as Nicholl's has sabotaged it. 

Melville Cooper is also in it as well as the voices of Robert Clarke (same year as THE HIDEOUS SUN DEMON) and Les Tremayne. This Technicolor science fiction is based on a novel by Jules Verne. It was originally produced by RKO but they went out of business and it was picked up and released by Warner Brothers. It's a farfetched but enjoyable tale with the two leads great when they butt heads. Byron Haskin (THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)) directed. This would be his last S.F. movie until 1964's ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS.

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