Harryhausen

  (imdb)

EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS-1956-Dr. Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) and his wife Carol (Joan Taylor) have a UFO encounter. Later while overseeing Project Sky Hook, Marvin's father-in-law General Hanley (Morris Ankrum) advises him to cancel a scheduled rocket take off. Aliens land and metal robots cause some destruction. It seems their original message was misunderstood so they attacked. Later Martin and Carol, Major Huglin (Donald Curtis) and a police officer (Larry Blake) are taken aboard a saucer. There they see Hanley has been abducted and become the aliens' unwilling spokesman. They want to make Earth their new home as their world is dying. Martin and Prof. Kanter (John Zaremba) invent a sonic gun to kill the aliens. While it's being built, the aliens create some explosions on the moon and saucers attack DC. One is shot down and crashes into The Potomac. The Washington Monument and The Capital are among the buildings destroyed. Mostly caused by the shot down UFOs. 

The SFX (by the master Ray Harryhausen, who goes uncredited!) are the real highlight of this black and white science fiction film directed by the unheralded super-fast Fred Sears who made 8 other movies in 1956 including ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK and THE WEREWOLF. Thomas B. Henry is an admiral and Paul Frees is the voice of an alien. One of the screenwriters was Curt Siodmak.

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Passing Parade

 

 (flickchart)

JOHN NESBITT'S PASSING PARADE-1944-"Return From Nowhere". In this story, traumatized seaman Alan Blank (Don DeFore) loses a sum of money he hoped to buy a farm with. He cracks up and is put in a hospital. His friend Jack (Donald Curtis) relates the story to a doctor (Morris Ankrum). Using fried eggs and bacon, a jazz record and a kind of dream therapy,  the doc figures out what's ailing Alan and helps cure him. At the beginning and end Peter Cushing is shown in a scene from another movie!

 “The Passing Parade” was a popular radio show written and narrated by John Nesbitt (the grandson of Edwin Booth). Beginning in 1938 MGM produced a series with Nesbitt as writer/narrator. 46 shorts were produced, the last in 1949.

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Werewolf vs. Frankenstein

 

 (imdb)

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER-1958-On the movie set of "Werewolf Meets Frankenstein", make-up man Pete Dumond (Robert H. Harris) is regarded as a legend. He's made up Larry the werewolf (Gary Clarke) and Tony the monster (Gary Conway) for director Martin Brace (Thomas B Henry). However the "new regime" doesn't like monsters and they fire Pete and his assistant Rivero (Paul Brinegar). To get revenge Pete uses a special compound in his make-up to make the actors do his bidding. The monster actors kill the two executives. Pete himself even puts on some scary make-up to kill a nosy studio guard. John Ashley (as himself) shows up to croon a number. Robert Shayne has one scene as Larry's angry agent. Police Captain Hancock (Morris Ankrum) investigates. Malcolm Atterbury is a security guard. After the picture is finished and Pete is ready to leave, he invites the boys to his house to meet "his children", props and masks he made for his movies (including real AIP monsters from IT CONQUERED THE WORLD, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN and THE SHE CREATURE). Pete really loses it at the end. It seems he wants the actual heads of the young actors! A fire starts and destroys his collection ("I must save my children") The finale is in color. 

Herman Cohen (he also wrote the screenplay and has a cameo as a projectionist) produced this through AIP with Samuel Arkoff and Jack Nicholsen as the executive producers. The same year director Herbert L. Strock worked on “The Veil” series starring Boris Karloff.

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The Claw

 

THE GIANT CLAW-1957-Test pilot Mitch Macafee (Jeff Morrow; THE ISLAND EARTH) sees a UFO but no radar picks it up. Major Bergen(Clark Howatt) accuses him of a practical joke but when a commercial airliner goes missing the major has to eat his words. When Mitch and mathematician Sally Caldwell (Mara Corday; TARANTULA) are on their way back to NY when the sighting of another UFO causes Pete the pilot (Frank Griffin) to crash his plane. Mitch and Sally are ok and are rescued by Pierre (Louis Merrill), a woodsman who later says the “UFO” is Carcagne, a mythological Canadian monster. They all manage not to see a giant claw print. 

It's later revealed the “UFO” is a giant prehistoric bird (a bad marionette) which shows up on some weather balloon film. General Buskirk (Robert Shayne) takes Mitch and Sally to Washington DC to meet General Considine (Morris Ankrum). After a missile attack fails, a Dr. Noymann (Edgar Barrier) figures out that the bird is made up of anti-matter from outer space. Sally proposes that the bird is here to nest and lay eggs. And she's right! 

This Sam Katzman production features one of the most comical giant monsters of all time and it was one of the last movies directed by the indefatigable Fred Sears who unfortunately died in 1957 of a heart attack at age 45.

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Mars

 

RED PLANET MARS-1952-Prof. Chris Cronyn (Peter Graves) and his wife Lynn (Andrea King; THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS) visit a giant telescope site where scientists there have just taken pictures of Mars which they believe show signs of life. This doesn't surprise Cronyn much as he claims to be getting radio signals from it. Meanwhile somewhere in the Andes a communist scientist Franz Calder (Herbert Berghof), a Nazi war criminal who once experimented on humans, tries to contact Mars for his superiors (led by Marvin Miller). Since he is the person who actually invented the device that Cronyn is using, he's rather bitter. Calder is not successful but can monitor Cronin's progress. Using Pi Cronin gets his Martian response. However this doesn't bode well with the US and it's economy starts to crumble. Everybody wants a piece of Cronyn but a Naval commander (Walter Sande) is sympathetic to him. The secretary of state (Morris Ankrum) wants the lab closed down and he and a General (Tom Keene) want the president (Willis Bouchey) to declare war on Russia. Just when all hope seems lost it's discovered God is on Mars! 

Communist Russia is destroyed by a religious uprising! However later when world peace has been established Calder shows up and drops a bombshell on Cronyn. He was the one sending the message replies, not Mars! Calder plans to tell the world of his charade but then a message really does come from Mars. Calder destroys the machine killing himself and The Cronyns but they die heroes. Vince Barnett, Henry Kulky and Gene Roth among others have small roles. 

This wild cold war propaganda movie was the debut film for director Harry Horner, also a production designer who who later made THE WILD PARTY. RED PLANET MARS is based on a play by John Balderston (who co-wrote the screenplay) author of the screenplays for FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935).

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Hey Abbott?

WAGON TRAIN-"The Tobias Jones Story"-1958-This episode of the long running western about a wagon train crossing the western plains to California features the only dramatic role by comedian Lou Costello! He plays Toby Jones, a drunken itinerant who stows away on a wagon with a little girl name Midge (Beverley Washburn) who's devoted to Toby like a daughter to a father. Due to his drinking the wagon master Seth Adams (star Ward Bond) has Midge stay with Mrs. Folsom (June Clayworth) and her mean, abusive husband (Morris Ankrum). Things don't work out too well as Toby's drinking gets him into a lot of trouble. It comes to a head when Folsom is stabbed to death (with Toby's knife) and 10,000 dollars is stolen. The would be settlers want to string Toby up but Adams makes sure cooler heads prevail. Except Toby feels it would be better for him, Midge and everyone else if he was dead. Of course Toby is innocent and it's up to Adams to find out the truth. This episode also features Peter Breck as a rabble rousing cowboy and Harry Von Zell (who wrote the script) as a level headed easterner. The story itself is typical of the time but Costello is very good in the serious role. It was directed by Herschel Daugherty. Lou Costello made one more filmed appearance the next year in his only solo effort THE 50 FOOT BRIDE OF CANDY ROCK. He died of a heart attack at age 52 before it was released. Ten years later Beverley Washburn would co-star as one of the Merrye sisters in Jack Hills' SPIDER BABY! TV and radio announcer Harry von Zell was featured on THE BURNS AND ALLEN SHOW at the time.

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Dwan's Last Stand

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN ALIVE-1961-Gangster Eddie Candell (Ron Randell) escapes his death row prison cell to seek revenge against Damon (Anthony Curuso), a mob boss who double crossed him. While wandering in the desert Candell is caught in the fallout of a cobalt bomb blast. He (and a watermelon) turns into a literal "man of steel" as his body is fused with metal. Bullets can't hurt him. Two police officers (Gregg Palmer & Morris Ankrum) investigate. Debra Paget (who co-starred with Elvis in LOVE ME TENDER in better times) is his ex-girlfriend who testified against him. He takes her hostage and drives around in a truck full of dynamite. Another ex-girlfriend, Carla (Elaine Stewart) is more cooperative. A big manhunt ensues and Damon tries to kill Candell several times and fails. In the end he throws Damon off a cliff and is reduced to dust by flame throwers. This disjointed very low budget Sci-Fi drama, the last by screen director legend Allan Dwan seems like a TV movie missing a scene or two. The story was co-written by actor Michael Pate.

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Part-3-Zombies Underwater...

Hey! It's been brought to my attention by my friend Tony that I over looked a movie that may have had a significant influence on George Romero. That would be THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, the first version of Richard Matheson's novel "I Am Legend" which was recently remade. I'll get around to that a little later. Right now here's part 3 of Ed Cahn!

Ok so Edward L. Cahn was only getting started! From 1955-59 he'd helm some of the best remembered low budget horror/sci-fi movies of the decade outside of Roger Corman like THE SHE-CREATURE, IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (ripped off by "Alien" 20 years later...but that's another story...), INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN, VOODOO WOMAN(which featured the costume of The She Creature with a new head!) and CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN. He even found time to make other films on topics involving crime (two with Mamie Van Doren) juvenile delinquency and World War 2!!!



In 1957 Cahn unleashed THE ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU usually considered a very minor effort even by schlok movie fans, yet any movie that features a villain named George Harrison who's wife is played by B movie icon Allison Hayes can't be all bad...and it isn't!!

Somehere in Africa (?) an old woman (Marjorie Eaton, later in "Monstrosity") lives in a mansion near an underwater wreck where a crew of zombies (including her husband) guard a cache of diamonds. Treasure hunting Harrison (Joel Ashley) and his trashy wife (the ever buxom Miss Hayes) want the stash. They are accompanied by their ship's captain (nominal hero Gregg Palmer who also fought a killer tree in "From Hell It Came" the same year) and a doctor (ever present character vet Morris Ankrum). Thrown into the mix is the old lady's granddaughter (played by pretty Autumn Summer, who either never made another movie or changed her name!) wherein providing the usual love triangle of terror.

A scene in a masoleum like chamber and the underwater zombie attack scenes are rather effective despite the minuscle budget. I suppose this really didn't have much influence on Romero but it does have zombies and I just wanted to tell people about it!

As a side note: 1957 was a busy year for Allison Hayes too. She was in The Undead, The Disembodied and The Unearthly and in 1958 she would portray the lead in "The Attack of The Fifty Foot Women" and be propelled to B-movie cult-dom!!

But Edward Cahn wasn't done yet either! Although he would soon be winding down his "horror movie cycle" by 1959 he would make two doozys including the incredible:

INVISIBLE INVADERS

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What A Bunch of Characters!

When i watch a lot of old movies I love spotting certain actors. When I see them I usually yell out their names even if I'm alone. Here's a few of my favorites:



BYRON FOULGER-He is without a doubt my favorite chacter actor! He most often pops up as a neighbor lingering around after a murder has been committed. He might have some comment like "How shocking. She was such a quiet girl", usually giving the impression that he had something to hide that had nothing to do with the plot! He also played clerks, pharmacists, train conductors and was the mad scientist "Dr. Bluzak" in an episode of "The Abbott & Costello Show". In the '60's he showed up in a lot of sit-coms. To read his bio and see his picture go here: http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspu...or_last=Foulger



GENE ROTH-If you like AIP productions from the '50's you've probably seen this guy in a dozen of them. He was the cynical but tough sheriff in EARTH VS, THE SPIDER and was the second in command Nazi in SHE DEMONS (oops, sorry..that's not AIP!). He had un-billed roles in many films (a cook, a cab driver) was even in some late period 3 Stooges shorts including OUTER SPACE JITTERS (the one with Dan Blocker as the monster). Here's a picture of him:

TRIS COFFIN-Great name! This guy showed up in many movies billed and un-billed, sometimes as a bad guy or red herring crooked banker. He also played army officers and doomed business associates. He was the star of the Republic serial THE LOST PLANET AIRMEN. Some times billed as Tristram Coffin which is cooler.

Here he is:



Recognize him?



MORRIS ANKRUM-This actor was all over the map in the fifties. He usually played a father or army captain or some kind of scientist. He also was the judge on many episodes of TV's PERRY MASON. Here's his picture:




JOHN ELDREDGE-This actor made many un-billed movie appearances too. He also had a kind of recognizable voice. He played a villain on THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN several times. As movies coincidences would have it, he and George Reeves co-starred in a silly Rosemary Lane romantic comedy in 1940 called ALWAYS A BRIDE!

Hope you recognize some of these gentlemen!