THE BUBBLE (1966)
aka Fantastic Invasion of the Planet Earth
Article 2911 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-27-2009
Posting Date: 8-2-2009
Directed by Arch Oboler
Featuring Michael Cole, Deborah Walley, Johnny Desmond
Country: USA

A plane makes an emergency landing in order to get a pregnant woman to a hospital. The passengers of the plane discover that the residents of the town they are in are acting strangely, and they soon discover that the whole area is surrounded by a sphere so that no one can leave.

Arch Oboler had a hit with the first full-length movie in 3-D, BWANA DEVIL. Here he is, returning to the process 14 years later (though it’s redubbed “space vision” here), long after the 3-D craze had passed. One of the main attractions here is that the movie really works the 3-D angle; one almost expects Dr. Tongue to appear. Unfortunately, the story is an exercise in frustration. It starts out well enough due to the mysterious premise, but it’s another one of those movies which is cluttered with character-developing moments. Now, there really is nothing wrong with character development if the characters are essential to the movie or help drive the plot in some way, but here, it feels more like an attempt to pad the film than anything else. It also doesn’t help that we’re given nothing in the way of concrete answers; we get endless speculation on insufficient evidence, and even when a new wrinkle to the mystery shows up, it’s just another thing that will fail to be resolved or explained. Those who get off on existentialism might like this one, though I most recommend it for those who like to see things like brooms come right out of the screen at them.

THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BELL (1970)
TV-Movie
Article 2909 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-25-2009
Posting Date: 7-31-2009
Directed by Paul Wendkos
Featuring Glenn Ford, Rosemary Forsyth, Dean Jagger
Country: USA

A professor who is a member of a secret society is given an assignment to prevent a colleague from accepting an offered position. When the professor is forced to use blackmail to accomplish this, the colleague commits suicide. Devastated by guilt, the professor vows to bring the society out in the open and reveal the conspiracy.

It occurred to me about halfway through in watching this movie that a conspiracy movie like this must seem deceptively simple to write; once you’ve established the power of the secret society, you can just ride the waves of building paranoia that come in the wake of not knowing who you can trust. The problem comes in coming up with an ending that a) works within the ground rules you’ve set down about the reach and power of the society, b) is not obvious (such as, having the conspiracy win) and c) and is satisfying; basically, once you’ve got the paranoia ball rolling, it’s hard to stop. Therefore, I’m not surprised that the ending of this movie is a disappointment; given all that went before, it’s just rather lame. However, that doesn’t change the fact that, up to that point, this is one very effective TV-Movie. This is due to the excellence of the cast (with Glenn Ford doing a fantastic job as the professor, as well as particularly memorable turns from Will Geer and William Conrad) and the fact that the script refuses to just blithely ride the paranoia wave, as some of the events that happen show real creativity and a certain degree of ambiguity. It’s one of those TV-Movies that doesn’t feel like one; nor does it feel like a failed pilot for a potential series. The talk show sequence of this movie was apparently based on “The Joe Pyne Show”, though it made me think of the type of talk show represented by Jerry Springer. I’m not entirely sure about the fantastic content here, though the idea of a secret society controlling the power and money of the world certainly verges on both science fiction and horror territory.

BRAVE NEW WORLD (1980)
TV-Movie
Article 2905 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-21-2009
Posting Date: 7-27-2009
Directed by Burt Brinckerhoff
Featuring Keir Dullea, Bud Cort, Kristoffer Tabori
Country: USA

In the future, people are bred to belong to select classes and are kept happy through the ingestion of a drug called soma. When an alpha male and a beta female visit a primitive colony on a vacation, they set off a chain of events in which a civilized man, brought up as a savage, is taken out of his setting and introduced to the world of the civilized men.

It’s been years since I’ve read Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel, which I’ve always seen as something of a companion piece to George Orwell’s 1984, only with a remarkably different dystopia. I’m going to give this movie the benefit of the doubt at this point, and assume that it more or less captures the story of the novel. I say this because I find the story very interesting indeed; it follows the adventures of several characters in this future world, and explores the way cultures can develop different and irreconcilable forms of morality. It also explores the theme of how the removal of pain, sadness and suffering can also remove the spark of human spirit; in particular, the use of the works of Shakespeare as a counterpoint to the bland events of this “brave new world” demonstrates that greatness will not exist where suffering does not exist. The movie (which ran over two nights and runs about three hours long without commercials) is also well cast; in particular, I like Bud Cort as Bernard Marx, who was allowed to live and develop despite the fact that his embryo had been damaged while still in the bag. Also memorable are Keir Dullea, Julie Cobb, Ron O’Neal, Marcia Strassman, and Dick Anthony Williams. The direction is only so-so, and, despite the fact that the movie does have a sense of humor, I do think certain moments are unintentionally funny. Nevertheless, the strong story and the good performances prevail.

BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971)
Article 2903 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-19-2009
Posting Date: 7-25-2009
Directed by Seth Holt and Michael Carreras
Featuring Andrew Keir, Valerio Leon, James Villiers
Country: UK

An Egyptologist, who once headed a mysterious expedition into the tomb of Queen Tera, gives his daughter a ring found on the severed hand of the queen. It is meant to protect her from the curse of the evil Queen, who looks just like her. However, the queen will not be denied…

On the plus side, I really like that Hammer decided not to go the usual mummy route for this exercise in Egyptian horror; in fact, there’s really no mummy to speak of (and the Queen’s body is too well-preserved to really count). There are also some effective and eerie moments in the movie. However, there are also a fair amount of clumsy ones, the characters aren’t really developed enough to make their motivations clear, and I came out of this one more than a little unsatisfied. Granted, the production was plagued with problems of its own; its original star (Peter Cushing) had to back out due to his wife’s illness, and the director died before the production was complete, necessitating a replacement for the last few days of shooting. There’s some wonderfully subtle moments here, but there’s also some strident and forced ones as well. I do like the nod to the director of the original DRACULA in the boyfriend’s name, though. I just wish this movie worked better overall.

BIRDS DO IT (1966)
Article 2902 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-18-2009
Posting Date: 7-24-2009
Directed by Andrew Marton
Featuring Soupy Sales, Tab Hunter, Arthur O’Connell
Country: USA

A janitor at a military/scientific installation accidentally gets trapped inside a machine that pumps him full of ions. This gives him the ability to fly and makes him irresistible to the opposite sex.

Imagine a cross between a Disney shopping cart movie and a Jerry Lewis movie. Now imagine that it’s about the quality of THE FAT SPY or THE NASTY RABBIT. That should give you a sense of what this dreadful comedy is like. It’s one of those movies that tries to be a laugh riot for every second of its running time, but none of the jokes hit and all that’s left is a sense of desperation. Of the three leads listed above, it’s Tab Hunter that comes off best, but that may be because he’s the only one who doesn’t come across as desperate. On the plus side, I will take my hat off to the special effects crew and the chimp (the former because they do a decent job and the latter because I like chimps). As for the rest… really, you’re better off with IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD. Just one thing – please, someone reassure me that that wasn’t Groucho Marx in a cameo!

BIG FOOT MAN OR BEAST (1972)
Article 2901 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-17-2009
Posting Date: 7-23-2009
Directed by Lawrence Crowley
Featuring Rene Dahinden, John Green, Grover Krantz
Country: USA

This is a documentary about the search for Bigfoot.

The seventies was the decade of documentaries about mysterious phenomena, most of which are tiresome and pretty lame (I’m looking at you, Sunn Classics). This one is from American National Enterprises, and it’s one of the better ones out there; it’s more matter-of-fact and less sensationalistic, and at times it shows a nice attention to detail that helps with the verisimilitude. I’m mostly a skeptic where such things are concerned, but I also have a deep streak of longing on the matter; as a monster lover, I would love it if creatures like Bigfoot really existed. This movie, like THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK, taps into that feeling. The first half hour of the movie concentrates on interviews with various people who claim to have encountered Bigfoot and features interviews of various experts. One of the more offbeat of the latter is with Janos Prohaska, who made a career as a stunt man and animal imitator which included a few of the monsters on “Star Trek”; he is consulted on his opinion of the possibility of whether the creature caught in some famous film footage is actually a man in a monster costume. The rest of the movie covers an expedition headed by Robert W. Morgan to track down the creature and get incontrovertible proof of its existence. With hindsight, we know from the beginning that this proof was not found (otherwise we’d now have proof and this movie would probably be famous), and, if you allow yourself to get caught up in the search, you’ll find yourself saddened by the event which ends the expedition (a forest fire destroys territory that the researchers believed might be a migration route for a family of Bigfoots). Though a few scenes are obviously staged (when a scientist calls Morgan to give him the analysis of some hairs he found at the site of a Bigfoot sighting, I find it hard to believe that the camera crews just happened to be both with Morgan and the scientist to catch the phone conversation), for the most part it comes across as authentic. Perhaps the most interesting fact that I came by on my research was to discover that Robert W. Morgan, who appears in several movies of this type, also wrote, directed and appeared in the interesting if uneven BLOOD STALKERS.

BEYOND ATLANTIS (1973)
Article 2895 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-11-2009
Posting Date: 7-17-2009
Directed by Eddie Romero
Featuring Patrick Wayne, John Ashley, Leigh Christian
Country: USA / Philippines

When a pimp discovers a source for rare pearls, he organizes an expedition to the island where they can be found. However, they have to contend with the natives, who may be descendants of the lost Atlanteans.

All you have to do is see Eddie Romero’s name next to John Ashley’s, and you’ll know it’s another Filipino movie. This one’s okay; the cast is fun (Patrick Wayne, Sid Haig, Eddie Garcia, Vic Diaz and George Nader), the women are attractive, and the underwater photography is excellent. However, the script is too unfocused to really build up any steam, which is a real problem in the final part of the movie. Furthermore, the Atlantean makeup is … well, let’s call it Wilderesque (and I don’t mean Billy, but his brother H. Lee, who directed the notorious KILLERS FROM SPACE). The ending is also pretty unsatisfying.

BEDAZZLED (1967)
Article 2894 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-10-2009
Posting Date: 7-16-2009
Directed by Stanley Donen
Featuring Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Elanor Bron
Country: UK

When a short-order cook, depressed over his inability to work up the courage to ask a waitress for a date, makes a failed suicide attempt, he is visited by the devil, who offers him seven wishes for his soul. However, the devil has plenty of tricks up his sleeve…

This take on the Faust story is a cult favorite. It’s only moderately funny; for me, the best bits are Peter Cook’s petty jokes designed to spread misery, such as purposefully scratching records and calling people he knows are in the bathtub merely to tell them they’ve got a wrong number. However, it’s not the comedy that really centers this movie; it’s the wicked satire on religion that drives this one. Throughout most of the movie, the short-order cook is the main character, but by the end of the movie, you’ll realize that it’s the devil’s story that’s being told here, and by the end of the movie you’ll understand his plight very well. Most of the advertising centered on the presence of Raquel Welch in the role of Lust, and though she does a fine job, it’s really no more than a cameo. It’s Cook, Moore and Bron who really make this work, and they all do a fine job in taking on the various roles and personas given them by the script. It’s not for everybody, by any means; I suspect that devout Christians in particular might find this one offensive. Nevertheless, I think the final twist in the story is great, and I found the movie quite enjoyable.

BAD RONALD (1974)
TV-Movie
Article 2893 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-9-2009
Posting Date: 7-15-2009
Directed by Buzz Kulik
Featuring Scott Jacoby, Pippa Scott, John Larch
Country: USA

When he accidentally kills a local girl, Ronald is hidden by his mother in a secret room so he can evade capture by the police. When the mother dies, the house is sold to a family that is unaware that Ronald is still hidden in the house.

In some quarters, this TV-Movie is considered to be notoriously bad. Well, it’s not near as bad as all that, but it is somewhat undernourished; I got the sense that the script was a couple of revisions away from being really complete; the plot points seem a little mechanical, the timeline is vague, and some of the character transitions are faulty. Still, it’s odd enough to give it a certain novelty value, and though the teenage girls are quite annoying, the acting is quite good. The fantastic content includes the theme of madness, and the idea that the house may be haunted (though we know it’s only Ronald). And, to its credit, at least this movie wasn’t another pilot for a tentative series. Still, I think it could have made a series (albeit a pretty bad one) … if they had retooled it into a sitcom. Plot holes abound; why doesn’t anybody notice the disappearance of Mrs. Schumacher for one thing, and why can’t anyone hear Ronald using the bathroom?

BLACKHAWK: FEARLESS CHAMPION OF FREEDOM (1952)
Serial
Article 2886 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 4-2-2009
Posting Date: 7-8-2009
Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Fred F. Sears
Featuring Kirk Alyn, Carol Forman, John Crawford
Country: USA

Blackhawk leads a military flying unit that eschews firearms and employs wits and fists to defeat their enemies. They must contend with an organization of saboteurs intent on stealing many of the country’s secrets and destroying their team.

I would have to say that this is the best serial from the fifties I’ve seen yet; it’s energetic, fun, and doesn’t seem to rely on endless stock footage. Yes, it’s cheaply made, but it even has a bit of fun with its cheapness; the fact that all of the hideouts of the saboteurs look identical becomes a bit of a running joke. There’s the requisite Gizmo Maguffins to keep the plot moving, with a ray gun and a super fuel the items the saboteurs are after. It generally avoids the bailout cliffhangers, and there’s a great episode in the middle of the serial that takes place at an oil field; every once in a while you’ll see an episode of a serial that actually delivers what serials always promise, and this episode is one of them. This one was quite enjoyable.