Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters (1970)

SANTO AND BLUE DEMON VS. THE MONSTERS (1970)
aka Santo el enmascarado de plata y Blue Demon contra los monstruos
Article 3490 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-29-2011
Posting Date: 3-5-2011
Directed by Gilberto Martinez Solares
Featuring Santo, Blue Demon, Jorge Rado
Country: Mexico
What it is: Mexican wrestling monster mash

An evil scientist is resurrected from the dead, and gathers together an army of monsters to do his bidding. He also creates an evil duplicate of Blue Demon. Can Santo defeat the monster army and rescue the real Blue Demon from the scientist’s clutches?

I was fully expecting to be watching another Spanish language movie without subtitles, so I was delighted to find English subtitles popping up when I put this one into my DVD player. In the final analysis, though, I don’t think it matters. The movie doesn’t really have a plot; it has a premise, a resolution to that premise, and it fills the rest with typical Mexican wrestler movie scenes (there’s two wrestling scenes and a nightclub scene) and stuffs it to the gills with monster attack mayhem. The movie is a tribute to demented excess; the first clue I had to this was when I realized that the scientist’s assistant was both a midget and a hunchback. We have a vampire, a set of female vampire minions, a mummy, a werewolf, the Frankenstein (excuse me, Franquestain) monster, a bizarre furry cyclops, a short little monster with an exposed brain (this one seems to be for atmosphere; he does little but stand around), and a set of zombie hordes whose green makeup doesn’t quite go up to the actors’ hairlines. The opening credits sure make it look like this is the Santo movie to end all Santo movies. Questions abound. Why does Raul Martinez Solares, a child actor with no previous movie acting credits, get fifth billing when he does little more than run away when his parents are attacked by the werewolf? Does the Frankenstein (excuse me again; Franquestain) monster have a valid driver’s license? Why does the movie stop the action dead in its tracks so we can visit a nightclub where they’re putting on what looks for all the world like a Mexican version of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS? Did they have to keep changing the batteries for the Cyclops’s eye? Don’t worry; the movie moves so fast you’ll barely have time to think about these things. It seems to me that this is the movie that ASSIGNMENT TERROR and Al Adamson’s DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN could only wish to be. I can’t really call it “good” per se, but as an example of insane overkill, it’s hard to beat.

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Gigantes Planetarios (1965)

GIGANTES PLANETARIOS (1965)
aka Planetary Giants
Article 3489 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-28-2011
Posting Date: 3-4-3011
Directed by Alfredo B. Cravenna
Featuring Guillermo Murray, Adriana Roel, Rogelio Guerrra
Country: Mexico
What it is: Mexican space opera

In an effort to put an end to alien espionage, astronauts take a trip to a giant planet.

I’m guessing a bit on the plot, since my copy is in unsubtitled Spanish. It’s a pretty ambitious effort considering the limited resources of Mexican cinema, and though the special effects are weak, I’ve seen worse. Still, it’s no surprise that about half of the movie remains earthbound, with the usual office, nightclub and sports arena settings so common to movies from this country (though I will admit to being a bit surprised that the arena scene was for a boxing rather than a wrestling match). The story appears to be nothing special; it’s largely a “go to the evil planet and defeat the bad guys” plot. Still, there are some odd moments you only find in Mexican cinema; my favorite is seeing someone pack for a trip and including a space helmet in their luggage. Apparently, this movie spawned a sequel which, if you can believe the ratings on IMDB, is not very good but better than this one.

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The War in Space (1977)

THE WAR IN SPACE (1977)
aka Wakusei daisenso
Article 3488 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-27-2011
Posting Date: 3-3-2011
Directed by Jun Fukuda
Featuring Kensaku Morita, Yuko Asano, Ryo Ikebe
Country: Japan
What it is: Japanese space opera

An intrepid team of fighters use their war machine called Gohton to fight off an invasion from Venus.

Any movie with a title like this to come out after the release of STAR WARS tends to trigger a belief in me that it was made to cash in on the popularity of that movie. And there are definite elements of STAR WARS in this movie. However, Japan has a tradition of space opera all its own, and Toho has more than its share under its belt, and though this movie may borrow from STAR WARS, it also is taking inspiration from previous Toho productions like ATRAGON and (especially) BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE; in some ways, this movie is a remake of that second one. This gives the movie a little bit more in the way of novelty value. There are also a few moments I really like; just for example, I’m really taken with the fact that there is no background music when the task force first enters the alien spaceship, as it adds a real tension to the proceedings. I find it more useful to compare it to BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE than STAR WARS, and I can say that in some ways it improves on that movie; there’s a much greater human element to this one, making it less of exercise in mechanical special effects. But, alas, there’s something incredibly threadbare about the whole production; I miss the crowds and milling extras that fill up those earlier movies, as there hardly seems to be anyone around in this one. There’s also quite a bit of silliness, especially in the monster and alien design. The ending owes more than a touch to the original GOJIRA, and it’s one of the better sections of the movie. Still, the movie is more of a curiosity than a success.

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The Lost Planet (1953)

THE LOST PLANET (1953)
Serial
Article 3487 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-26-2011
Posting Date: 3-2-2011
Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Featuring Judd Holdren, Vivian Mason, Michael Fox
Country: USA
What it is: Science fiction serial

The evil Dr. Grood discovers a planet with a rare mineral that can give him the power to conquer the world. Can reporter Rex Barrow defeat him and rescue Grood’s hostage, Professor Dorn, who is being forced to help him in his evil schemes?

The IMDB rating of this serial is a lowly 4.6, which is no surprise for a serial made when the genre was on its last legs in the mid-fifties. And, truth to tell, it is a fairly lame serial. However, I’m feeling generous enough to say I more or less enjoyed this one. Maybe it’s because it’s an actual honest-to-goodness science fiction serial with rocket ships, an alien planet and amazing inventions rather than being mostly an action-adventure flick with one or two small Gizmo Maguffins, which is what I usually get. Maybe it’s because it actually looks like almost all of the footage used was actually shot for this serial and not lifted from another older one, which is actually pretty rare for this time. And maybe it’s because the serial has the good sense to put its comic relief character in a hypnotic trance that keeps him from cracking wise during most of the running time. This may make up a little for the fact that the alien planet looks like Vazquez rocks for the most part, that the aliens look and dress like Arabs, and that the evil Dr. Grood can’t make up his mind to kill Professor Dorn or keep him alive. Or that most of the cliffhangers are fairly lame, even if it avoids bailouts. Or maybe it’s because I’m nearing the end of covering this type of thing and don’t want to go out on a sour note. Besides, this serial has some of the most entertaining chapter titles I’ve ever enjoyed.

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Check and Double Check (1930)

CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK (1930)
Article 3486 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-24-2011
Posting Date: 3-1-2011
Directed by Melville W. Brown
Featuring Freeman F. Gosden, Charles J. Correll, Sue Carol
Country: USA
What it is: Radio stars make a movie

Amos and Andy try to make a go of an open-air taxi service, and are sent on a quest by the Mystic Knights of the Sea.

I’ve run into a few sources that claim this is the only film appearance of Gosden and Correll in their “Amos ‘n’ Andy” characters, but that’s not true; on top of providing voices for a couple of theatrical cartoons featuring their characters, they also appeared in THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1936; this was, however, the only movie in which they starred. They were big radio stars at the time and their show would make a successful transition to TV when the time came; however, they are seen very rarely nowadays in the age of political correctness. They were talented comedians, nevertheless, and there are some good moments to be had here; I particularly like a scene where Andy almost destroys a phone conversation that Amos is having merely by interjecting phrases that Amos keeps repeating. The movie is also historically interesting in that it also features one of the earliest screen appearances of Duke Ellington and his orchestra, and they provide a musical highlight to the movie. However, the movie does suffer from that early-talkie creakiness, and it’s saddled with a dull romance subplot. The fantastic content has the duo visiting a supposedly haunted house as part of an assignment from the Mystic Knights of the Sea, but since there’s no real haunting going on, it just adds a slight touch of horror to the proceedings.

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The Norliss Tapes (1973)

THE NORLISS TAPES (1973)
TV-Movie
Article 3485 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-23-2011
Posting Date: 2-28-2011
Directed by Dan Curtis
Featuring Roy Thinnes, Don Porter, Angie Dickinson
Country: USA
What it is: Horror TV pilot

In order to find out why a writer of his (who has been working on a book debunking the supernatural) has disappeared, an editor begins listening to a series of cassette tapes that chronicle the writer’s investigations. The first tape deals with a dead man who has returned to life… but for what purpose?

When you get right down to it, this TV-Movie pilot is a slight reworking of the basic Kolchak scenario. Still, I wouldn’t have minded if this one had been made into a series, but I somehow doubt that both this one and “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” would have made the cut, and if I’d had a choice, I’d go with the series that got made. The main advantage this one would have had is that it had a framing story that would have lent itself to repeated forays into the supernatural whereas in “Kolchak”, it was mostly driven by coincidence. The biggest disadvantage would have been that writer David Norliss simply isn’t as much fun a character as Carl Kolchak, and though this movie is actually pretty good, it lacks the wit that enlivened “Kolchak”. I do wonder if the series would have had an overriding arc that would investigate the writer’s disappearance, but we can only speculate. Nevertheless, this is a solid and exciting TV-Movie that does leave you wishing for more, and it’s quite enjoyable on its own.

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Lifepod (1981)

LIFEPOD (1981)
Article 3484 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-22-2011
Posting Date: 2-27-2011
Directed by Bruce Bryant
Featuring Joe Penny, Jordan Michaels, Kristine DeBell
Country: USA
What it is: Low-budget science fiction

The first cruise spaceship to the planet Jupiter goes on red alert, and the passengers evacuate to the moon of Callisto, leaving a small contingent of passengers and crew behind. Most of these people make their way to a lifepod to make it to a nearby moon where they can expect rescue, but the captain stays behind because he suspects that the red alert was faked by the main computer. And why is the creator of that computer (who is aboard the lifepod) so afraid of it?

I was initially put off by this movie’s extreme low-budget effects, synthesizer score, low-key-to-a-fault acting, and somewhat confusing exposition. But I stuck with it and soon found myself intrigued by the central mysteries of the plot. Why did the computer fake a red alert? Why did the computer become sentient? What is the creator’s secret? The plot uses the basic HAL the computer scenario from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY for its jumping off point, and builds from there. The acting is actually quite good, and the script does weave an ultimately very satisfying story, one in which we’re not quite sure whether the computer or its creator is the real villain. Though I was initially disappointed at the central revelation, I grew to like it more and more as the movie wound down. The movie only has a rating of 4.8 on IMDB, but if you’re like me, you might find yourself liking this one quite a bit despite its flaws.

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Legacy of Satan (1974)

LEGACY OF SATAN (1974)
Article 3483 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-21-2011
Posting Date: 2-26-2011
Directed by Gerard Damiano
Featuring John Francis, Lisa Christian, Paul Barry
Country: USA
What it is: Devil worship antics

A young wife is targeted by a devil cult.

Director Gerard Damiano was primarily a porn director, and, if the user comments on IMDB are correct, this was supposed to be a porn movie, but all the explicit sex was cut and it was released as a straight horror movie. This is probably why the movie has a scant 68 minute running time and has noticeable jump cuts. It actually has a certain atmosphere to it, and certain scenes are a bit startling, but it’s extremely muddled, occasionally very silly (that glowing sword), badly scripted, poorly acted, and has a truly annoying synthesizer score. Ironically, I suspect the movie would have worked better as a porn film.

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Last Cannibal World (1977)

LAST CANNIBAL WORLD (1977)
aka Ultimo mondo cannibale, Jungle Holocaust, The Last Survivor
Article 3482 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-20-2011
Posting Date: 2-26-2011
Directed by Ruggero Deodato
Featuring Massimo Foschi, Me Me Lai, Ivan Rassimov
Country: Italy
What it is: Italian cannibal film

A plane lands in the jungle, but the passengers discover that the camp they were searching for has been deserted and the residents eaten by cannibals. In their attempt to rescue one of their own members, they get lost, and must contend with the cannibal tribe while trying to get back to their plane.

My copy of this movie opens with a short interview from Ruggero Deodato in which he makes some interesting comments about the movie. He talks about the grueling process in which it was made (it was shot in a remote difficult-to-access area using real natives), praises the bravery of his cast (which, given the actions they are asked to do, seems fitting), and denies responsibility for the animals-killing-animals footage, which he claims were added by the producer against his wishes. Maybe so; the scenes of snakes attacking and killing other animals do feel tacked on and don’t always match the surrounding footage. However, some of the human-killing-animals footage doesn’t feel tacked on, and the scene where a crocodile is killed and eviscerated in onscreen detail looks too real to be faked, and provides a plot point, so I’m not sure I can hold Deodato blameless in this regard.

Of the Italian cannibal movies I’ve seen to this point, this is easily the most savage and the nastiest; it is also better made than the others I’ve seen. However, since the whole genre is rather offensive, one almost wishes it was poorly made so one could discard it; as it is, like it or not, the movie does have a certain power to it. It was the first of a trilogy of cannibal films helmed by Deodato, the second of which (CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST) is perhaps the most notorious of the whole genre. During the interview, Deodato talks about how the success of this movie gave him the means to shoot that later movie the way he wanted to, but how the censorship problems caused by the latter movie left him unable to work for three years. The movie is grotesque and nasty, and though it’s effective in some ways, there are some real ethical problems to contend with. I couldn’t help but wonder about the natives that were used in the movie; were they even cognizant of what they were doing and how the movie was portraying them?

You know, when I started this whole series, I never envisioned the day when I would have to start dealing with Italian cannibal movies, and had I even considered it, I would have thought that I would probably have abandoned the project long before they would come up. Well, I’m still doing it, and here they are, and I can’t help feeling a bit nostalgic for the days when I was still looking forward to the next Universal classic to come up on my list. As it is, I’m forging on ahead.

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Island of the Lost (1967)

ISLAND OF THE LOST (1967)
Article 3481 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-19-2011
Posting Date: 2-24-2011
Directed by Ricou Browning and John Florea
Featuring Richard Greene, Luke Halpin, Sheila Welles
Country: USA
What it is: Island Lost World story

A scientist takes a voyage to discover some theoretical lost islands. He finds one of them… and it’s inhabited by prehistoric creatures and puts him at the mercy of angry island natives.

When I was young, I associated Ivan Tors with a series of TV shows featuring animals that were popular throughout the sixties and seventies, such as “Flipper”, “Daktari” and “Gentle Ben”. It was only later that I became familiar with his science fiction movies and his interest in the sea. This movie has the novelty of combining all three; much of the action takes place in the sea (hence, the presence of Ricou Browning as one of the directors), there are plenty of animals on hand, and it has a premise somewhat similar to that of THE LOST WORLD. Granted, when I mention prehistoric creatures, I’m not talking dinosaurs; we have sabre-toothed wolves, nine-gilled sharks, strange looking alligators, and vicious prehistoric ostriches. The latter are a particularly odd choice for a threat; though ostriches can be quite dangerous, their ungainly looks tend to make them seem comic. There’s also a pet seal named Drip for animal cuteness. The movie is only so-so; the production values are low, the script is often silly, and there’s very little in the way of surprises. The script is one of the few writing forays of actor Richard Carlson, and based on this, I don’t think he had a keen ear for dialogue. The occasional good scene and some unusual camera shots are the most striking things here.

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