50's British Horror

THE GAMMA PEOPLE-1956-When their private car gets detached from the rest of their train 2 music critics wind up in Gadavia, a strange German like town that's not on their map. Mike is the American played by Paul Douglas and Howard (Leslie Phillips) is British. They meet a pompous police inspector who promptly puts them in jail. After they are released the pair find a lot of weird things going on. For instance the telegram office has no telegraph. "Something very odd's going on here" says Mike. They watch a young girl play classical piano but she's interrupted by Hugo (Michael Caridia), a young boy who looks straight out of the Hitler youth who criticizes her. "What a little stinker" says Howard. Then a maid slips them a note about "saving the children". Later Howard is accosted by some zombie looking residents ("Must be a pack of local teddy boys"). They meet the mysterious Dr. Boronski (Walter Rilla) who is actually a missing scientist named Mirsch who says he's interested in educating the local kids but his "work" is far more sinister. After poor Howard is beaten up by a pack of young boys Mike discovers Boronski is using gamma rays to create geniuses and imbeciles and the children are his guinea pigs. Fortunately the doctor's assistant Paula (Eva Bartok) and little Hugo turn against their mentor and help save the village. 

Douglas is very good in the tough guy role (he was in THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC the same year) and despite some lapses into comedy this is a good little thriller, more mystery than science fiction. Co-star Leslie Phillips went on to have roles in many English TV shows and films (and is still alive at the time of this writing!). Director John Gilling later made films for Hammer including THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES and THE REPTILE.

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