Another Cheapo Western

 

 (themoviedb.org)

WACO-1966-In Emporium, Wyoming, Sheriff Kelly (Richard Arlen) tries to keep law and order but is shot in the back. Councilman Gates (John Agar) wants the mayor (Robert Lowery) to hire convicted killer Waco (Howard Keel) to clean up the town which is controlled by Joe Gore (John Smith) and his partner in crime Rile (DeForrest Kelly). Waco's old flame, Jill (Jane Russell) is now married to preacher Sam Stone (Wendell Corey). 

Waco helps the mayor's daughter (Tracey Olsen) and roughs up some rowdy ranchers. He helps reform the drunken deputy (Gene Evans) but later, Waco decides to take over the town. He sends for his friend gunfighter Ross (Brian Donlevy). However, when Ross backs out, the whole town decides to defend their territory. 

Ben Cooper is a would-be deputy. Terry Moore works in the bar. Also with Fuzzy Knight. Director RG Springsteen who made many westerns in the  30's and 40's was already working in TV by the time of this low budget production. Singer Howard Keel had starred in THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS in 1963.

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Long Day's Journey Into Space

 

 

 (themoviedb.org)

JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET-1962-In the year 2001 when the world is run by The United Nations, an international manned rocket ship is heading for Uranus. On the way their minds are taken over by an alien presence that learns their innermost feelings. Exploring the big U, they encounter a one-eyed creature (Terrible stop motion). They meet a village girl Ingrid (Greta Thyssen) and 2 other women. Ladies man Capt. Don Graham (John Agar; in HAND OF DEATH the same year) sees illusions of her. There's a giant spider and a one-eyed spongy monster wants to take over Earth. 

Techno-color Sci-Fi cheapie filmed in Denmark, directed and co-written by Sidney Pink (the English language version of REPTILICUS (1961)) and Ib Melchoir who had already teamed with Pink for THE ANGRY RED PLANET in 1959. 

Lead actress Thyssen was once groomed as a new Marilyn Monroe but now might be more well known to some of us from the trio of Joe Besser 3 Stooges shorts she co-starred in.

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Foghorn

 

 (imdb)

THE ROCKET MAN-1954-Timmy (George “Foghorn” Winslow), an imaginative little orphan is given a special space gun by a weird looking alien. When he shoots it, it makes moving things stop. It also makes people tell the truth. He's taken in by Amelia Brown (Spring Byington), the local judge and her daughter June (Anne Francis two years before FORBIDDEN PLANET). Amelia wants to put the local corrupt politico Big Bill Watkins (Emory Parnell) in jail. Mayor Ed Johnson (Charles Colburn) is sweet on Amelia but he's in Big Bill's pocket. Enter Tom Baxter (John Agar; in Hugo Haas' BAIT the same year), a parolee sent by a warden to get reformed under the Judge's wing. A couple Bob (future “Bowery Boy” Stanley Clements) and Ludine (Beverly Garland) come to get married, and it turns out Bob is the parolee not Tom. In fact, Tom is actually a lawyer hired by Watkins to close the orphanage. Timmy uses the gun to save the orphanage and help June and Tom fall in love. 

This is a whimsical little love story comedy with a great cast but a so-so script dripping with sentimentality. It was co-written by future comedian Lenny Bruce. 

Director Oscar Rudolph worked mainly in TV but he also made the features TWIST AROUND THE CLOCK (1961) and DON'T KNOCK THE TWIST (1962). He was the father of future director Alan Rudolph. Child actor George Winslow was also known for his earlier in the musical comedy GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) (also with Charles Coburn) and made his last movie in 1958.

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Moles

 

 (imdb)

THE MOLE PEOPLE-1956-The oddball introduction to this film is done by Frank Baxter, a college English teacher who sometimes appeared on TV as “Mr. Research”. He talks about the hollow Earth theory. Then a group of archaeologists journey to a sacred Asian mountain after finding some unusual Sumerian artifacts. They find the ruins of a city and one guy (Phil Chambers) falls through the floor and is killed. That leaves Dr. Bentley (John Agar in his only horror/sci-fi role in 1956)), Dr. Bellamin (Hugh Beaumont), Prof. LaFarge (Nestor Paiva) and their guide (Rodd Redwing) to descend into the Earth in a rather long scene. An avalanche kills the guide and traps them underground. They discover that the Sumerians created their own “ark” just before the Great Flood. Then they are attacked by the big-eyed reptilians of the title (I know, I know. Moles aren't reptiles...). They are sort of rescued by a pasty-faced tribe who use the mole people as slaves. The trio are condemned to death, to die in “the fires of Ishtar”. They escape but LaFarge is killed. A flashlight saves the surviving duo, and they are revered as gods. Bentley falls for Adad (Cynthia Patrick), the only blond-haired woman. The high priest Elinu (Alan Napier) stirs up trouble and bad influence with the wimpy king. The guys are put in the “fire” but it's just ordinary sunlight. The moles revolt and kill everyone except Bentley and Bellamin who escape with Adad but she's killed in another earthquake when they reach the surface. Robin Hughes (THE THING THAT WOULDN'T DIE) has a small role as a guard. The next year co-star Hugh Beaumont played Mr. Cleaver on the long running TV show “Leave It to Beaver”.

This low budget Sci-Fi fantasy was directed by Virgil Vogel in his debut. He does the best with what he's got. He went on to work on many TV shows. Screenwriter Lazlo Gorog wrote mostly for TV but also did the screenplay for the ultra-cheapy THE LAND UNKNOWN (which Vogel directed) the next year. William Alland was the producer.

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Transmissions From Planet Haas

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BAIT-1954-The devil disguised as Sir Cedric Hardwick introduces this tale of two gold prospectors Marko (director Hugo Haas) and Ray (John Agar) looking for a lost goldmine. Peggy (Cleo Moore) an unwed mother who works at a grocery comes between them. The religiously bent Marko thinks Peggy was sent by the devil. The duo find the mine and both get gold fever. While Ray stays behind, Marko romances Peggy and winds up marrying her. Dumbly, he takes her to the mine to live with him and Ray but he has his reasons. 

Pretty low grade even for Hugo Haas, king of the senseless low budget morality tale. Bruno Ve Sota is also in it.

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Another Sibling!

DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL-1957-After an eerie intro about Robert Louis Stevenson's famous story where Mr. Hyde is called a "human werewolf" and he cackles "Are you sure?", Janet Smith (Gloria Talbott) comes to the house of her guardian Dr. Loomas (Arthur Shields) with her fiance George Hastings (John Agar) to celebrate her 21st birthday and their engagement. Things seem ok at first and Dr. Loomas even informs the couple that Janet has inherited a huge estate. But the big news is she is the daughter of the infamous Dr. Jekyll who became Mr. Hyde and was eventually killed by a mob. Janet refuses to marry Bill but he disagrees. Meanwhile a stupid servant Jacob (John Dierkes) hangs around eavesdropping. Of course Loomas is up to no good and he kind of hypnotizes Janet. At night she has a weird dream and then finds evidence she might have been out roaming. 

After Maggie the maid (Mollie McCard) is found dead Jacob spreads rumors that Janet could be a werewolf. She has another nightmare and wakes up with blood on her hands. "This ridiculous! We're living in the 20th century!” Of course it's Loomas who's the Hyde-wolf and he's hypnotized Janet into thinking she's the killer. George has encounter with Loomas and gets clouted but wakes in time to prevent Janet from committing suicide. After George and Loomas-Hyde have another tussle, Jacob puts a stake through his heart. But the final scene is a repeat with Hyde saying "Are you sure?". 

This run of the mill typical late '50's low budget horror film was directed by the great Edgar Ulmer who's output for interesting films was reaching it's end. He made only 6 more movies. The story has a few good scenes but basically it's not much. Screenwriter Jack Pollexfen was nearly at the end of his career too.

Star Talbott made THE CYCLOPS for Bert I. Gordon the same year. 

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2020/11/they-dont-call-him-mr-big-for-nothing.html

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He also had a son!:

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2020/11/inferior-quasi-sequel.html

Unsold TV Pilot

DESTINATION SPACE-1959-In the future a space station nicknamed "Benedict's Billions" is ready to launch a manned rocket ship when it's hit by a meteor. No one is killed but this gives a headline seeking senator (Robert Cornthwaite) another reason to criticize it. Jim Benedict (Harry Townes) head of the project comes under a lot of personal criticism especially from Kim (Gail Kobe), the wife of the station's captain (Charles Aidman). John Agar is his associate Col. Matthews. Cecil Kellaway is the outspoken Dr. Andrews. Dr. Logan (John Lormer) is also aboard. After Jim gives a nice speech that kind of wins everyone over, a scientist Dr. Easton (Edward Platt) is sent along as an independent observer. Jim's girlfriend June (Whitney Blake) fits into a love triangle Jim gets caught in while trying to clean the ice build up preventing the launch. 

There's not a lot of info available on DESTINATION SPACE but now it's pretty much agreed this was actually an unsold pilot before it was released as a feature film. It certainly has that feel to it although former actor Joseph Pevney had directed many feature films (like THE MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES in 1957) by the time this was made he had already take “the leap” into TV (where he worked on many TV shows for many years to come). 

Producer/writer Rip Van Ronkel had written the screenplay for the excellent DESTINATION MOON in 1950. Much stock footage from 1955's CONQUEST OF SPACE was used too.

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John Agar

HAND OF DEATH-1962-A guy investigates a bunch of dead sheep and passes out. Scientist Alex Marsh (John Agar) & his assistant Carlos (John Alonza) revive him and say they were conducting a secret experiment for the government and he mustn't tell anyone. Back in civilization, Alex visits wheelchair bound Dr. Ramsey (Roy Gordon), his kind of girlfriend Clara (Paula Raymond) and another scientist Tom Holland (Stephen Dunne). He tells them he’s invented a nerve gas that can also hypnotize its victims. Clara doesn't like it. She thinks it's too dangerous. One night while working he knocks over a beaker containing some experimental gas. He passes out and has a dream about floating test tubes and lab mice. He wakes up with a dark sunburn and when he touches Carlos he dies. Alex packs a bag, sets the place on fire and leaves. Joe Besser plays a happy gas station attendant who's cheerful outlook doesn't pay off. I’ll watch anything with John Agar in it but I’ll never forgive him for killing lovable Joe Besser! 

Alex hides out at Ramsey's place while they try to find a cure. Tom comes up with something but by then poor Alex turns into a lumpy faced monster (he resembles the original version of The Thing from the Fantastic Four comic books) who accidentally kills Ramsey. Despite his obvious pathetic grunts that are pleas for help when Clara sees him she flees in terror (ok, I would have done the same…). Undaunted he puts on a floppy hat and trench coat and goes for a ride. That doesn't work out so he wanders around aimlessly scaring women until he kills a cabbie and steals his cab. With the police on his trail Alex ditches the cab and wanders on the beach. After he collapses a little kid (Butch Patrick) almost touches him, Alex goes to Tom’s beach house for help but surprise! Clara is staying there instead. Tom and the police arrive and when Alex becomes aggressive a cop shoots him. Tom can have Clara all to himself. 

This seldom seen low budget horror movie was the first feature length film directed by Gene Nelson, also an actor who went on to direct Elvis Presley in KISSIN' COUSINS but worked mainly in TV. 

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Buchanan

THE CURSE OF THE SWAMP CREATURE-1966-More Larry Buchanan madness with John Agar as a geologist looking for oil in the swamps with a trio of crooks. They run into the crazy experiments of Dr. Trent (Tony Houston; also the screenwriter) who is trying to make a fish monster out of a man! He feeds his failures to some stock footage crocodiles. Meanwhile the locals practice voodoo (called “snake worship”). Except for Agar the acting in this is quite comical. Especially Huston, an amateur ham who would make Shatner seem like Olivier! (“My beautiful indestructible fish man”). Francine York is Mrs. Trent and Bill McGhee (Ben in DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT) is a dim-witted servant. Buchanan regular Bill Thurman is one of the crooks and the swamp creature.

Buchanan throws in some interesting camera angles but otherwise it's pretty boring. Agar also starred (with Houston) in Buchanan's ZONTAR: THE THING FROM VENUS the same year!

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Revenge in The Sunshine State

REVENGE OF THE CREATURE-1955-In the this first sequel to THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, Captain Lucas (Nestor Paiva) once again takes an expedition to the Amazon to try and find "The Gill Man". Two guys are looking to bring him/it back to the States. After one of the guys Joe Hayes (John Bromfield) is almost killed underwater, they use dynamite to stun the creature and take him back to an aquarium in Florida. Dr. Clete Ferguson (John Agar) goes to study it. At first The Gill Man is in a coma but when he comes out of it the trouble starts. He/It nearly takes Joe out again but he's held in check by a chain fastened to the bottom of  his tank-prison and put on display with barracudas and sharks. Ferguson meets Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson, in THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED the same year) who's doing her thesis on fish. While their romance booms, the two do reflex experiments on the the creature and he/it seems to take a shine to Helen who feels sorry for the monster. "I pity him sometimes. He's so alone". Eventually the scaly one, in a hormonal rage breaks out of the tank, kills Joe and terrorizes customers. He takes to the country looking for Helen. Locating her briefly he watches her undress and kills her dog. He stalks Helen and Ferguson while they're out dancing and invades the club kidnapping his beloved. He finds having a relationship with an oxygen breathing female a little difficult and when they both need air he falls prey to the Florida police. It looks like he's killed in a hail of bullets and drifts lifelessly away (but we know better). The two air breathing lovers are reunited.

REVENGE's plot of  "The Gill Man in civilization" isn't bad for a sequel especially since the original took place entirely in the jungle. There are some lapses in logic. The aquarium seems to handle the situation all wrong just asking for mayhem. And since the creature was plucked from his natural habitat and placed in a tank to be probed and prodded by "men of science" couldn't they have had a little more sympathy for the green guy? Ok, it was the Fifties....

It was nice to see original director Jack Arnold back for part 2 and this really help avoid some of the pitfalls sequels sometime have. His scenes of the creature prowling around at night are excellent.

Two men portray the creature in this film. Ricou Browning plays him underwater and Tom Hennesy played him on land. Both have cameo roles in the production. Of course Clint Eastwood has one small scene with Agar as a lab tech who can't find a mouse.

Jack Arnold directed both Agar and Paiva in TARANTULA the same year.

THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US would follow...

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1950's Horror

TARANTULA-1955-This begins with a mutated guy in his pajamas dying in the desert. Later the corpse is examined by Dr. Matt Hastings (John Agar) and the aloof professor Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) who says the cause of death was “agromeglia” but Hastings isn't buying it. Turns out the professor is experimenting with an isotope that can enlarge animals. When Deemer is attacked by another mutant his lab burns down and an experimental tarantula escapes. The mutant dies but not before injecting the professor with the isotope. Deemer's new intern “Stevie” Clayton (Mara Corday) winds up taking care of him when he starts to mutate. The giant arachnid dogs their trail but eventually starts eating cattle and people. Hastings, the sheriff (Nestor Paiva) and a newspaper publisher (Ross Elliot) can't fight it. When the spider knocks out phone lines and terrorizes Deemer and Stevie, Hastings uses dynamite but that fails to do any good. It's up to the Air Force (lead by Clint Eastwood) to get rid of it. Hank Patterson is a hotel clerk and Raymind Bailey is another scientist. 

Jack Arnold directed this fast paced low budget horror sci-fi story with great (for the time) special effects the same year as REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (also with Agar). 

REVENGE's screenwriter Martin Berkeley co-wrote TARANTULA but was soon after blacklisted. Lead actress Mara Corday (still alive at the time of this review) was in another Jack Arnold outing THE MAN FROM BITTER CREEK the same year. Leo G. Carroll's popular sit-com TOPPER ended the year he played the the deformed Prof. Deemer.  

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50's Brain

THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS-1957-Wooo-Hoooo! They don't make 'em like this anymore!

Nice scientist Steve March (John Agar; in THE DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL the same year) discovers some abnormal radioactivity at "Mystery Mountain". After discussing it with his girlfriend Sally (Joyce Meadows) and her father (Thomas B. Henry) he and his assistant Dan (Robert Fuller) decide to investigate. In a cave (Bronson canyon) they run into a a giant alien brain that's impervious to their bullets. It goes inside Steve's body.

After being gone a whole week, Sally plans her own expedition to find them but Steve mysteriously shows up and gives her a big kiss ("It make my toes tingle). He says Dan has gone to Las Vegas and then seems to have a spasm that he says is just a toothache. Sally senses trouble and needs the help of the family dog to get free of his over amorous clutches. When she says he should see a doctor he says "Don't expert me, Sally!". Is this real English?

Later we learn the brain that has taken him over is named Gor and is from the planet Arous. It has big plans and thinks Sally is "a very exciting female". Sally expresses her concerns to her father who's too cheerful about it even when Steve yells at him for no reason. Father and daughter decide to go up to "Mystery Mountain" and look around. They find the cave Steve and Dan went into. There they discover  Dan's burned corpse. They also meet another brain named Vol who it seems is kind of like a federal agent from Arous and has come to capture Gor, obviously some kind of escaped lunatic. At night Vol plots with Sally and dad to save Steve's life by getting Gor out of his body. Vol decides to take over George the dog to be around Steve/Gor a lot.

Meanwhile Gor has plans to take over the world with "the power of pure intellect". Steve's eyes become very glassy and he destroys an airplane. On a date Steve brags about his new discovery that will "make me the most feared man on Earth". Vol tells them that a blow to the "fissure of Rolando" at the base of Gor's skull could kill him. After he kills the local sheriff, Steve goes to Washington DC and demonstrates his power by setting off an atomic bomb before it's scheduled. He later meets with delegates from every nation. He lays out a plan wherein the Earth will work continuously around the clock to build a huge armada so Gor can return to Arous and conquer it. In the end its plans never see fruition as Sally gets the word to Steve about the fissure and armed with an ax Steve does the brain in.

BRAIN is a pretty cool little Howco production that benefits from John  Agar's performance especially when he's possessed by Gor. His maniacal laugh and sinister grin are the high points of the low budgwt production.

Director Nathan Hertz (aka Nathan Juran) was very busy in 1957 also directing 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH, THE DEADLY MANTIS and HELLCATS OF THE NAVY (with Ronald Reagan & Nancy Kelly).  

Part 4-Invisible Zombies....

So time was running out! The fifties were almost over. Ed Cahn had proven himself as a master of the low budget genre yet he would save the best for last! He made 7 (!!) movies in 1959 but none more entertaining or influencial than INVISIBLE INVADERS!!! If this didn't influence George Romero than nothing did!

Somehow a scientist, Dr. Noymann (John Carradine) gets blown up after experimenting with atoms. Another doctor named Penner (Phillip Tonge, who died later in the year) gives the eulogy. A little later on he's visited by the reanimated corpse of the previous declared dead Dr. Noymann who's dead shell is in fact being inhabited by a race of aliens "far beyond our galaxy". They want the people of earth to surrender to them or else everybody and everything will be destroyed. They kill "thousands" with their acts of sabotage. But most frightening of all, the aliens inhabit the bodies of the dead and make them rise from their graves to reek havoc among the living (at this point actual newsreel footage is shown!). The government decides to do something about it. They send various groups to underground bunkers to work on a solution....

Our story focuses on one such group: Dr. Penner, his daughter Phyllis (future mom to TV's Patty Duke Jean Byron), her kind of boyfriend Dr. Lamont (Robert Hutton, who had already solitified his B-movie career with THE MAN WITHOUT A BODY and THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK) and tough as nails Air Force Major Jay (John Agar in his third movie for Cahn and in one of his best roles). When the dead get up and start walking you can't help but see how this had an impact on Romero and NIGHT OF THE LVING DEAD especially with a small group in an isolated area terrorized by the resurrected dead. They even have a closed circuit TV to watch what's going on (scenes from Cahn's aforementioned CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN are shown here). Dr.Lamont seems like a coward even though apparently he wants to help but eventually Phyllis falls for the Major. Like many of Ed Cahn's films a narrator fills us in on what's going on, giving the whole a thing a documentary like feel, much like the TV scenes in NOTLD!

INVISIBLE INVADERS is a low budget classic full of great dialogue and scary scenes. It might best be viewed with friends after a couple of beers but it's influence on NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD can not be ignored.

Sadly this would be Ed Cahn's last venture into the realm of science fiction. In 1960, he would release one more horror movie (more on that in the future..) but for the next 2 years, until his death his output would consist mainly of crime dramas and westerns although his last film would be a modest, well done, color version of "The Beauty And The Beast". Cahn, originally from NYC, died in 1963.

I seem to have gone off stray with my original topic. I think my real reason for writing this was to shed light on the somewhat forgotten legacy of director Edward L. Cahn, a forerunner who has yet to get his due!

RIP-Kevin McCarthy...

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Zontar Strikes!

ZONTAR, THE THING FROM VENUS-1966-As most bad movie lovers know between 1965 and 1969 director Larry Buchanan made seven movies for AIP that the company released directly to TV. 5 of them were remakes of their ’50s horror/Sci-Fi movies. ZONTAR is an un-credited remake of Roger Corman’s IT CONQUERED THE WORLD. It’s pretty bad but kind of fun.

John Agar (in the Peter Graves role) is the scientist in charge of a recently launched satellite. Antony Houston has the Lee Van Cleef  part, another scientist who is in contact with a visitor from Venus hold up in a cave. Weird flying insects roam around turning victims into zombies. The acting is mostly atrocious but Agar is pretty good at delivering a lot of serious lines! I don’t know if this is on DVD (don’t buy it if it is!) but the print I saw was washed out and very choppy.

Agar was also in Buchanan’s CURSE OF THE SWAMP CREATURE the same year. Bill Thurman, a Buchanan regular, has a role as well as many other actors and crew.

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Night Fright!

NIGHT FRIGHT-1967-This made in Texas atrocity seems to feature scenes with a monster as an afterthought. It’s very very talky and way too dark. A very skinny John Agar stars as a small town sheriff battling a killer mutant monster that came out of a secret government rocket crash. A lot of local teens (all very bad actors) are terrorized and Agar’s character almost loses it when one of them calls him “fuzz” (“Listen, punk. Don’t call me fuzz”).

The grumbling monster looks like a man in an ape suit except for the head, which is very shiny and plastic looking and resembles a Klingon! An elaborate plan to capture the creature is mostly characters just sitting around waiting! Though the monster is suppose to be big and noisy victims don’t really notice him until he’s right on top of them! Larry Buchanan regular Bill Thurman plays Agar’s deputy who gets killed (Agar had been in 2 Buchanan outings himself). Screenwriter Russ Marker (who also has a role) had made THE YESTERDAY MACHINE but this is 10 times worst. Nothing happens! But what can you expect from a director (James A. Sullivan) who edited MANOS –HANDS OF FATE!!

The same year Agar had a small role in Corman’s THE ST. VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE. It stinks but I wonder it if Dean R. Koontz saw this before writing “Watchers"?

One of the young people is played Brenda Venus who went on to write a column for Playboy magazine and was "the muse" to author Henry Miller in the last years of his life. His letters to her were collected into a book titled "Dear, Dear Brenda". 

Final note: The script supervisor on NIGHT FRIGHT was Annabelle Weenick from DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT and Larry Buchanan movies....

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The Wrath of Cahn!

JET ATTACK-AIP-1958 -So in my continuing effort to drum up support for the under appreciated director Edward L. Cahn I present this obscure Korean War melodrama. It was his second war drama for the year (see SUICIDE BATTALION).

John Agar stars as Capt. Tom Arnett. He and his partner (Gregory Walcott who starred in PLAN 9 around this time ) and comic relief guy (James Dobson) drop behind enemy lines to rescue an army scientist who may still be alive. They are helped by local guerrillas led by Victor Sen Yung (also in SHE DEMONS the same year and soon to be cook Hop Sing on TV’s Bonanza). Audrey Totter plays a Russian doctor who helps the Communist hating Americans. She also provides Agar with a love interest.

As in SUICIDE BATTALION (and ROCKETSHIP X-M) everybody but Agar and the guy he came to rescue die. Leonard Strong leads the North Korean force of bad guys....

JA isn’t anything special.. In fact it’s a pretty standard “Communism must be crushed” war drama but director Cahn also made IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE and CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN (both written by sci-fi author Jerome Bixby) the very same year!

Screenwriter Orville Hampton penned tons of movies including RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP (1967) and FRIDAY FOSTER (1975) and worked with Cahn again. Most notably on the next year’s incredible THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE. His last work was for The Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour in 1976. He died in 1997.

The story credit goes to Mark Hanna who wrote ATTACK OF THE 5O FT. WOMAN the same year.

Star John Agar was never the world’s worst actor as he was often portrayed and gave some of his best performances in low budget craziness (see THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS!). Here he is the likable but tough All American soldier fighting to keep the world free. His other horror movie in 1958 was Bert I. Gordon’s ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE.

Writing some of the best low budget scores Ronald Stein’s soundtrack here is quite loud and governmental. It almost gives the movie a kind of documentary feel. When not helping out his friend Ed Wood on various productions producer Alex Gordon managed to produce some great stuff for AIP (including THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED). He produced THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE the next year. Co-AIP head James H. Nicholson was the executive producer.

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROCK-AIP-1956-Dig this early peon to rock and roll, cats. It’s like crazy. The great low budget master of the ‘50’s Edward L. Cahn shows he’s no square and not only is rock and roll here to stay but it can reform kids and make them productive!

Mike “Touch” Connors stars as a local deejay who believes this new, primitive music is not only an art form but it can set teens on the path to the straight and narrow. He’s assisted by jive taking Axe (Sterling Holloway in a real gone performance, dad). They get Fats Domino and Joe Turner to perform at a party so the reforming wayward youths can raise $12,000 to start their own “Teen Town”. Unfortunately they run into opposition by group of local oldsters led by Douglas Dumbrille and Margaret Dumont who’s niece (Lisa Gaye) Touch is in love with. Another old timer Raymond Hatton appears as Dumont’s husband. Hatton (who really hams it up) played the doomed prospector in Corman’s DAY THE WORLD ENDED in which Connors played the villain. Another DTWE vet Paul Dubov (the radiation victim who always wants to eat raw meat) plays a gangster who tries to break up the teen club. The always recognizable Percy Helton plays a comic undertaker/reformer. It ends in a televised court room where Connors and Dumbrille have their showdown and subtitles are used to translate Axe’s hip talk!

Domino and Turner do two songs a piece and some guy named Tommy Charles (“The one you’ve all been waiting for”) does a song that doesn’t fit in at all. This is a fun time capsule of “the way it wasn’t but it’s nice to think it might have been”. It was written by AIP vet Lou Rusoff (see CAT GIRL entry). James Nicolson and Alex Gordon were the producers. Original music by Alexander Courage!

"Sacred cows make the best hamburger"-Mark Twain

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