Not A Horror Movie!

 

 

 (imdb)

INVISIBLE MENACE-1938-A dumb GI named Eddie (Eddie Craven) sneaks his new bride Sally (Marie Wilson) into his army base for their honeymoon. When a scientist is viciously murdered everyone is a suspect. Especially Dr. Jevries (Boris Karloff). Col. Hackett (Henry Kolker), Lt. Matthews (Regis Toomey) and Dr. Brooks (Charles Trowbridge) investigate. Later Col. Rogers (Cy Kendall) is called in. They seem to want to railroad Jevries for the murder. 

Routine murder mystery only remembered for Karloff and the title. Director John Farrow (father of Mia) had directed Karloff a year earlier in WEST OF SHANGHAI.

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Sandy Stuff

SAND SERPENTS-2009-A small band of US soldiers fighting The Taliban in The Middle East are taken hostage but they escape after the captors seem to be wiped out mysteriously. They are almost rescued but a giant sand worm wrecks their helicopter. They hot wire an abandoned truck but promptly get into an accident with some locals being forced by The Taliban to make bombs. The characters do a lot of stupid things, argue, complain and then get killed. If these idiots are based on real life soldiers our country is doomed. The ending surprised me a little though. TV actors Jason Gedrick and Tamara Hope star. Director Jeff Renfroe recently filmed a biography of Steve McQueen.

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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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Clipped Wings

CLIPPED WINGS-1953-Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) accidentally join the army while trying to help their friend Dave (Todd Karns), a lieutenant who is arrested for being a spy. In actuality he's working with the FBI to break up a spy ring (lead by Phillip Van Zandt and June Vincent). For a time Sach is assigned to the WACs barracks where Renie Riano plays the sergeant. David Gorcey and Bennie Bartlett are there as is little Louie (Bernard Gorcey) providing some additional laughs. Once again this has an Abbott and Costello feel to it (think BUCK PRIVATES). 

A lot of familiar character actors appear unbilled including Lyle Talbott, Paul Bryar, Tristram Coffin, Henry Kulky, Arthur Space and William Tannen. Even Ed Wood Jr. regular Conrad Brooks has a bit role. 

Charles Marion (who worked on A & C movies) wrote it and Edward Bernds (who worked with the Stooges and Our Gang) directed. 

It was once released on VHS!

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Bowery Battalion

BOWERY BATTALION-1951-All "the boys" join the army. Their drill sergeant is played by Edward MacBride (the familiar character actor who among other things was in ROOM SERVICE with The Marx Brothers) and is the highlight of this torpid entry.

Sach (Huntz Hall) acts really freaky at times and Slip (Leo Gorcey) tries unsuccessfully to imitate Lou Costello in a drill scene. After getting thrown into the brig for impersonating officers it turns out little Louie Dumbrowsky (Bernard Gorcey) was known as "the fighting corporal" during WW l and knows the plans for a top secret weapon. He's made a colonel and "the boys" become his orderlies. They run afoul of spies but foil them in the end. The last line of the film has MacBride talking to the camera.

Of course Billy Benedict as Whitey, Buddy Gorman as Butch and David Gorcey as Chuck are also present. Usual 3 Stooges foil Emil Sitka has a small role as a clumsy waiter. Once again the William Beaudine-Charles Marion team made this one.


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Early Hammer

X-THE UNKNOWN-1956-This early Hammer production is a sequel to the previous year's THE QUARTERMASS XPERIMENT (known as ENEMY FROM SPACE in the US). Like it's predecessor it also stars an American actor in the lead role. While doing radiation exploration in Scotland, the British army discovers a "bottomless hole" from which an unseen entity has emerged. Later on, the being which survives on energy roams various locales burning victims with radiation. Dean Jagger is Dr. Royston, a brilliant scientist trying to figure out what the X is. Leo McKern is an energy inspector who helps Royston out. Edward Chapman is Royston's pompous director. Anthony Newley and future MONTY PYTHON director Ian MacNaughton are army guard victims. The monster is a big (animated) blob. The climax involves the detonation of a cobalt bomb. Also with Michael Ripper, Williams Lucas and Frazier Hines.

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