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I saw this movie as a 10 year old and was terrified by the flesh-eating monster. The devious behavior of Max was noted, but not understood. His demise was really gruesome and one the reasons I still remember this film. From: OzBob (in Australia!) (re: The Giant Claw) My favourite part was the B-25 diving on fire with the smoke coming out forward of the aircraft, then it sort of goes up backwards for a bit before continuing the dive. The studio shots of the pilots in the cockpit are a DC-3/C-47. This definitely takes the #1 spot on my list of all-time worst movies on so many different levels. If you set out to make a spoof of 1950s science fiction movies – it’s already been made!
In between all the holiday insanity I decide take some down time and go through my movie collection and pick a flick I haven't seen in awhile. When I came across "Night Of The Blood Beast" I stopped right there and said this is the one. A good old Rodger Corman $68,000 seven-day quickie B movie. Some of it was shot at the Charlie Chaplin Studios and at a TV studio on Mt. Lee in Hollywood ( visuals for high antennas and stuff to make it look like a science lab ) and Bronson Canyon where many of the "B" movies were shot. Here's an interesting tidbid about filming at the TV studio on Mt. Lee: Los Angeles charged a fee of $8.00 per actor to shoot there but the crew could be any size.
As for the actors, Michael Emmet played the astronaut John Corcoran who crashes to earth after a jaunt in space. Ed Nelson played Dave Randall a space agency tech. The HOT Georginna Carter played Donna Bixby. Then you had another hottie, Angela Greene, who played physician Julie Benson who was also the astronaut's fiancee! The plot thickens. Lastly, scientist Dr. Alex Wyman (played by Tyler McVey) and another tech, Steve Dunlap, played by John Baer. Evidently, there was a lot of controversy as to whether Rodger Corman or another guy named Martin Varno really wrote it. Varno wrote a movie called "Creature from Galaxy 27" and he claims Corman ripped him off and used that plot for the blood beast movie. Naturally there was litigation, and the plot thickens even more. OK, back to the flick: Like most of Corman's movies, to save a buck the beast's costume was from another movie called "Teenage Cave Men". Seems there was some controversy about the size of the beast's nose saying it was to ethnic ?....... talk about politically correct in 1958 but the plot even thickens more... so it was shortened a bit by the prop guys.
The long and shorts of this movie are simple: Astronaut crashes to earth, he's found to have some sort of crazy living organisms in him which just happens to sorta look like little sea horses under the microscope. Meanwhile, people are getting mutilated and finally the crazy beast appears which is killing people brutally, this is where the title comes from...lots of blood. So naturally everybody looks for the beast, trying to find a way to lure it in so they can kill it. He finally gets cornered somewhere in Bronson Canyon but captures one of the hot chicks (or maybe she captured him). The guy in the beast suit has a hard time grabbin' the chick. All through this flick the two hot chicks are running around screaming and if you're a guy and have one red blood cell in your body, you'll forget the plot of this stupid movie when you take a good look at Georgianna and Angela. With ease, they both could be pin-up models of the 50's... actually they did some modeling.
At the end, the beast captures the astronaut and..... I don't want to spoil the ending of this obscure Corman movie, as if you couldn't figure it out. But it's well worth buying the movie because it's kind of a cool flick. Post Script: If you take a good look at the movie flyer, a Corman double header, under the name of the place "Grand" it says it's "Scientifically Cooled " I think it's called A.C. these days. From: Kent (re: Caltiki) After spending last week watching bad movies, I was just wondering if anyone else noticed the similarities and differences between “The Blob” and “Caltiki”? They are both killed by a temperature difference from the outside environment. The Blob was dispatched by carbon dioxide fire extinguishers which froze it and Caltiki was killed by fire, which of course, carbonized it. It appears very apropos that Caltiki, being from the Latinized areas, would succumb to heat and the Blob, being from the northern half of America, would be moved into cold storage for the duration. Does Caltiki’s end speak of hot Latin blood being reflected in the movie? Does the end of the Blob also mirror the chilly Nordic/Teutonic personality we all know and love? Just Wondering.
I really like your review of La Nave de los Monstruos, although I can’t agree with the comment on Spanish telenovelas, which can be very entertaining even if (like me) you don’t understand the language. If you were to do a search for the name Andrea Guzman, it would give a very good idea why. In fact, now that I think of it, Andrea Guzman would fit very well into a remake of this movie as one of the comical femme fatale space women.
From: Fred (re: Kent's letter) Kent, If you would have given an arm for a "GOAT" (GTO) then you'll probably have a heart attack when I tell you it was a GTO Judge Ram Air , factory rated at 366hp ( low estimates of HP due to Fed's Law at the time of HP not exceeding ci ) but in reality it was close to 400 HP. And that sir was one bad ass muscle car, if only I had it today, I'm still a GM man and still will only own a GM V-8 not a Jap rice burner that sounds like a turkey fart going down the road. At any rate when that orange Judge came down the street it was an attention getter and a chick magnet. It sounded like a man's car especially when you could bypass the mufflers with a pull of a knob on the dash ( Factory Equipment, even more HP when ya did that ) and naturally when the ladies herd that rumble it was off to the drive-in later in the evening with the pick of the litter. The management of the drive-in didn't get pissed at us for littering but did get very annoyed when we left beer and wine bottles. He wanted us to take them home so one night I told the dork "Look if I bring empty wine and beer bottles home my old man's going to kill me"....he said "if you don't bring you crap home I'll tell your mother your doing the neighbors daughter"... So after a night of popcorn and Brenda, I had to stop in town to throw away the empties in the trash can on the corner of 3rd and Bellview... but guess what.. then the local cops were on our butts for under age drinking, just no winning that one. Someday I'll have to tell you about the 4 corvettes in a snow storm and why one chick was bungee corded to my vette's luggage rack on the way home that night... naturally beer and wine were involved at the movie before hand. John & Mara... John Agar, as I said, I loved in those old flicks and I had no idea he was married to Shirley Temple...wow. Now when it comes to Mara Corday in the "Tarantula" today I still think she's sizzling hot. Do you know that Clint Eastwood's first acting job was in that movie for a few seconds as a jet fighter pilot at the end? Do you remember the "Black Scorpion?" Mara was in that flick also and once again a lil' sex pot in it. Actually The Black Scorpion is still one of my favorite flicks, for its day some interesting special effects and stop-action and it looked like the producers spent a few bucks to make it. There were a few scenes with the overlay of a real scorpion footage that sucked but it sucked so bad it was acceptable. Invisible Invaders...yep a very cool movie -- watched it a few times but the California hill scenes are used in so many of those types of flicks. Attack of the Mushroom People... was never personally high on my list of movies but being a collector I do have it. The H Man... Kent, as hard as I try, I just can't get into that movie.. because I'm laughing so hard at it's stupidity. Hell if it makes me laugh I guess I do like it. Have you eve seen Night of the Blood Beast (1958) with Michael Emmet, Angela Greene and Georgianna Carter? One of those two chicks was a blonde in the movie and she's knocking on Mara's door in the "hot" department and the movie isn't that bad either.. actually a want-to-see-again movie. Now the beast itself looks like something from Loonie Tunes and it's one of those "captured girl is holding beast, not beast holding the girl" thing... again shot in the foot hills of California. So that Kent is the way it was and there's so much more. You sir are a man after my own heart and probably cut from the same cloth. Those truly were the good ol' days! From: Kent (re: Fred's letter) Fred, It’s good to see that someone is reading my missives!!! A '68 goat!!! I would have given my right arm to have one, I spent the 60’s tooling around in either a '64 Galaxy or a '66 bug. The Galaxy had a huge back seat and was perfect for the drive-in, but the VW…. not so good but with concerted effort on both partners. The only money I got was what I earned serving the venerable Washington Post. I can remember many a cold winter morning, getting up at O dark thirty make my route before school started. I also remember collecting at the end of the month and getting a lesson in what had priority in people’s lives, and I can tell you paying the paperboy was not on top of their list. I was not sure I wanted to share my other reason for loving the drive-in but since you went there I will also traverse that road. It was perfect for a date - cheap, secure, and dark! The buck to get in and the two bucks for Boone’s Farm apple wine for my date left enough for snacks and prophylactics. If that did not take care of what ails a teenage boy I don’t know what will. John Agar was also one of my all time favorite actors from that era, were you aware that he was married to Shirley Temple in the fifties? I enjoyed him in “Invisible Invaders” which is considered the first walking dead movie of the ilk like “Zombieland” or even “Night of the Living Dead” but I am not a real fan of that genre. The crash scene in the movie was lifted directly from a movie about running white lighting, and you will also find the name Karl Neuman spelt two different ways in the movie, in the credits one way and on a newspaper clipping another. I have seen that name used in other fifties flics, could be an inside joke or just more borrowing. I liked John Agar best in “Tarantula” because he started with Mara Corday and in “Revenge of the Creature” because the creature movies are just so fifties. You also mentioned that you found the effects in “The Giant Behemoth” lacking. Willis O’Brien, of King Kong fame did the effects and it was his last movie. He died of his alcoholism in 1962 only three years after Behemoth, I am not sure whether it played into how bad the effects were but it surely did not improve them. Now onto “The H Men”, my tastes are bad but I know a good B movie when I see one and “The H Men” is up there with my favorites. I remember walking about three miles to the Kaywood theater to see this movie paired with “King Kong vs. Godzilla” one Saturday afternoon and coming out knowing I had just seen two good movies. I love the Japanese gangsters and cops. Who could not love such hammy acting? The dancers and nightclub singer were just extra icing for this twelve year old. It could have been an overdose of milk duds, but that movie stuck with me and I did spend the outrageous amount of $7 to buy it at the video store and have not regretted it since. I usually pair it with “The Giant Claw” for an evening of excellent B movie watching. Have you seen “Attack of the Mushroom People” yet? That movie gave me the creeps and I refused to eat mushrooms until I was in high school. The movie is a wonderful metaphor for the us/them mentality of the cold war. From: Fred (re: The drive-in movie)
Wow, Kent, talk about fond memories of the drive-in. Mine were just a tad different than yours. Ours ( The Circus Drive-In ) didn't have all the neat stuff yours did just a concession stand with some God awful food, bathrooms ( no comment ) and a small area, a very small area, for kids to play in. My parents were so broke by giving me a good home and an education in a private school they couldn't afford to go to the movies so I had to wait till I got my drivers license. But once a month Dad took me and Mom to Ponderosa Steak house, eleven bucks total for 3 steak dinners with all the fixings! I lived in a small N.J. farming community and it was the mid 60's and muscle cars were all the rage and naturally after you picked up a chick on the main drag on Friday or Saturday night it was off to the drive in. A buck a car load was the tab. Actually for five bucks you could put gas in the car, go to the drive-in, eat and have between .50 to a dollar left at the end of the night...that is if you didn't buy condoms....then you went home broke but HAPPY. I went from a '65 Impala to a '68 G.T.O. and then to a '69 Corvette...this car you did not want to take to the drive in, it defeated the purpose of the condoms but at least you got to see the movie. The Impala was the best of all, a very large back seat and the front buckets folded forward. The G.T.O. was marginal but it worked and it was a street rocket.
One Saturday night I remember in particular, the feature was Zontar, the Thing from Venus and I was with a natural blond hair blued eye German chick named Brenda (name changed so as not to embarrass the woman ), she was a hot "older woman", I mean really hot, I was 18 and she was 21. Well for some stupid reason that night I wanted to watch this ridiculous movie because I liked the lead actor, John Agar, who did a lot of sci fi movies and I just thought the guy was cool even in this crappy movie, but again isn't this the reason we watch this stuff? I think Brenda got a little pissed cause I didn't want to play till the movie was over... oh well. Alas the old Circus Drive-in was abandoned as you'll see in the photo below but the memories will live on forever. I love the one flyer from the Circus, if you look closely the feature was Carmen Baby "the total female animal". Well in 1967 this was a forbidden movie featuring a German actress, Uta Levka, the catch was seeing her stick out her tongue in a close-up shot and what a bod! Let me tell you if you were a teenage male you had to go see this movie. Talk about raising your blood pressure. But by today's standards, it's nothing more than a commercial on TV for a burger. So there you have it, the old drive-in movie, fogged-up car windows, car heaters that were an accident and law suite waiting to happen, concession food that could possibly poison you, restrooms so bad that even your female date used the woods. But I wouldn't change a thing and would do it all over if I could in a heart beat. After all, for under five bucks you could be entertained the whole evening with really bad movies and had a very good chance of getting lucky with your date. But the real luck was if you didn't eat the concession food, you didn't have to visit the E.R.! From: Fred (re: Kent's letter - 4 letters down) Well, Kent, I have watched The Deadly Mantis, The Giant Behemoth and The H Man. How I ever forgot the The Deadly Mantis in my list is embarrassing. I often equate that movie to Them with the tunnel scene and all. I think much was taken from Them as a guideline for the plot. As far as The Giant Behemoth, well for a Brit movie it wasn't bad and I liked the blond chick in it. Although the special effects were not so special but then again isn't that why we watch this stuff?
Now The H Man, that movie really should have been on my hit list but now that I think about it, it was so confusing watching those Asian neighbors of ours run around town like a flock of gofers I forgot I had the flick.... thank God. Seems they invented green slime before the toy makers did. The only salvation for the movie were the cute Asian women, a good diversion from a bad movie. In my mind, it was so bad I wouldn't spend two bucks for it and waited till it was on Turner and I recorded it. Now since we're on the subject of strange flicks there's one more movie that for some reason I have to watch occasionally... it's a 1960 Spanish flick called "Ship of Monsters". O.M.G. is it funny! Two very busty space women come to earth with yep... you got it... a ship of hilarious monsters. Even though the movie's in Spanish it's a must see and you'll figure out the dialog without too much trouble. Actually, the movie is a sci fi, western, comedy, drama! That's what makes it funny. Hello A.M.: You lucky duck. I can't believe you get this on your TV. I'M SO JEALOUS! From: Bill I've gotta tell you that your website is just about the all-time greatest, funniest, most entertaining, time-wasting resource that I have ever stumbled across in my many years of aimless web browsing. Your review of "Killer Shrews" actually impelled me to download and watch the accursed thing. Now I'm watching "The Giant Claw" and wondering why I never heard of this world-historical cinematic marvel before learning all about it on "Atomic Monsters." I had to print out your hilarious tirade against the mice who invaded your lawnmower and pass it around to my co-workers. In a dark world, your sense of humor shines forth like a giant radioactive bug from outer space. And of course I'm following you on "Critter." OMFG, this is good stuff! Yours in B-Movie Creatureliness, A.M.: Bill, thanks so much - you've got me blushing like the Bride of the Atom! So YOU'RE the one following me on Critter. Now if I could just find out who the other one is!
From: Rich (re: The Thing from Another World)
I just watched one of my favorite movies — The Thing from Another World. I thought one of the doctors looked a lot like Ward Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver. But upon further research it turns out he is George Fennerman from the Groucho Marx show You Bet Your Life. Do you remember that show? I have watched this movie about ten times and never noticed that. Just goes to show you can learn something new every time you watch a movie. A.M.: I never noticed that - good catch! And of course if you're ever in the mood to see Ward (Hugh Beaumont) Cleaver, you can watch The Mole People or Lost Continent. Actually, you're probably better off just watching an episode of Leave it to Beaver. From: Kent (re: Drive-in memories) Hmmm tales of the times I had at the old Queens Chapel Drive-in Hyattsville, Md. I lived about two blocks from the drive-in. As a kid, we would pile into the old 50's "bulge mobile" and take in a Saturday evening of movies.
At first, I was more interested in being able to ride the "train" around the perimeter of the drive-in and play on the playground that was right in front of the giant screen (in my pajamas by myself) than in the movies themselves — a great thrill of independence for any eight-year-old. The "train" was in reality a duce and a half surplus army truck which, when not pulling the train, would ride around the drive-in with a huge fogger on the back spewing out DDT by the gallons. I can clearly remember running behind the truck in the fog pretending to be 007 and attacking communists — cold war, you remember. As the sun set, I would catch the train back to the car and settle on the roof for the cartoons and the usual two feature films plus coming attractions. The drive-in was situated next to a tributary of the Anacostia river, which if you know your B flicks is mentioned in the "Deadly Mantis," and also had a small private airport on the other side. It was interesting to see Piper Cubs come in with landing lights on during the middle of a feature. Being next to a river also gave the place an inordinate amount of mosquitoes. The pivotal point in my childhood relationship with the drive-in came one Saturday evening when, once again with the family (we were there to watch "The Longest Day" and there came on the screen a coming attraction for "Caltiki." I remember them showing the immortal monster in the glass aquarium and pushing on the top in order to escape. I had, by this time, acquired a taste for 50s science fiction and was determined to see that movie next week. My parents, on the other hand, did not share my desire. I whined all week, and schemed and plotted on how I could get in to see this flick. I had a friend who also shared my love for bad movies and together we came up with the plan of telling our parents that we were spending the night at each other's house. The drive-in had bleacher seating by the snack bar, which resembled a machine gun pill box more than anything else. We were too stupid to sneak into the movie through the hole in the fence so we paid at the front gate. It's a good thing too because no sooner had the show started when the projectionist came out of the top of the pill box and demanded everyone on the bleachers to show their ticket stub. We had ours, but some did not and got thrown out. Lesson learned: Always scrounge for a ticket stub after climbing in through the hole in the fence! After the movie, we hung out and rode the Washington Post truck down to 15th Street to look at the hookers and help load up the Sunday Post (by that time I had a paper route.)
Through the early 60s we would sneak in and find a stub and watch whatever was showing that summer night. Our drive-in also stayed open during the winter by offering in-car heaters which were nothing but glorified hot plates that you could hang on your window and were almost hot enough to light cigarettes on. During this time my friends and I refined our love of cheap cinema, including the usual sci-fi offerings and some T and A movies, which would be considered mild in this day and age. I often wondered if the owners figured out our ploy and just let us alone. We wore a fairly deep path through the hole in the fence and they would attempt to fix the hole every once in awhile to no avail. This continued until I got a drivers license and discovered girls. Here the stories become cliché and the last good movie I saw at the Queens Chapel was "Night of the Living Dead", that got both mine and my girlfriends attention. The drive-in was torn down and subdivided for industrial use in the mid 70's. When I married in 1979 and moved to the northern part of the county, I rediscovered my love of cheap cinema at the Laurel Drive-in. There my wife and new family saw "Close Encounters" and "ET". But soon, it too was sold and subdivided and now is a Red Lobster and an Olive Garden. It's a real shame that the drive-in is gone — it played an integral part in my life and I hoped my children would have those experiences, but it was not to be. Now they have restaurants that have drive-in themes — I don't know whether to cry or laugh at the notion. From: Alexander I’ve been away from here for a while, but I’ve meant to write. The letter by Beerme interested me, because I haven’t seen the recent version of The Spirit, but I have seen the 1987 pilot for a TV version, which decided to make it a “camp” version. I know that’s been done a lot since Batman, and often people resent it when it’s done with a serious character, but I think it was handled pretty well. (I found it on YouTube a few months ago, but I’m not sure if it’s still there.) A.M. Oh, it's there, Alexander, thanks! This is what I love about the Dead Letter Office - you never know what someone's going to "dig up." Sorry, that joke was a bit to Munster-y. (The graveyard scene in this movie clip looks so cheap it could've been used in Plan 9.) I finally got to see Missile to the Moon early this year by getting the Rifftrax version (though I keep wanting to see this colorized one). It was so entertaining to see the delinquent actor from “Teenage Crime Wave” playing the Gary character. Somehow that rocket in the back yard always seems less to me like something out of a ‘ 50s space movie and more like something out of one of those “Steampunk” stories like First Men in the Moon, the way it feels like the husband and wife could just stroll over to the thing and take off.
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