The Mouse that Roared (1959)

The tiny and impoverished nation of Fenwick declares war on America in order to lose and reap the benefit of war reparations. When they happen upon the only working prototype of the Q-Bomb (way more powerful than that wimpy H-Bomb), they accidentally win.

The real story here is Peter Sellers playing three rolls. The surprising thing is that he played them rather well. The ditsy Grand Duchess, the conniving prime minister, and the simple and good-hearted Tully Bascombe. Each character very different and well developed. This is his first foray into multiple screen personae (he was emulating Alec Guinness), and would make it something of a trademark. His real talent, in my opinion, was doing nuanced yet over the top characters in virtually every role. Sometimes very understated, sometimes Clouseau. He was a troubled comic genius whos art was built for longevity, if not his lifestyle.

Anything else of interest? Cutie Jean Seberg would take her own life twenty years later. Or was murdered by Nazi ninja alien bigfoots. The jury is still out on that one. She lived a life of drug abuse and infidelity. That's all I got this time. Amusing and well made, but no real LOL moments. Worth the time spent watching. AMRU 3. They made a sequel, but without Sellers, is it really worth watching?

"I warn you, madam - I know the entire Geneva Convention by heart!"
"Oh, how nice! You must recite it for me some evening; I play the harpsichord."

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

A strange fossil is found in the Amazon that dates to the Devonian age. It appears to be a human arm with webbed fingers. Wishing to find more fossils, they theorize that the sediment that contained them washed downstream, into the Black Lagoon!

Once a living specimen is discovered, good scientist David (Richard Carlson) wants to return better prepared to study this creature, but naughty scientist Mark (Richard Denning) wants to capture it and make a fortune! After David is finally proven to be unequivocally correct, they discover their path out of the lagoon has been barricaded by a Devonian aquatic ape with a penchant for hot chicks.

Here is Universal's last "classic" monster. Back in the 70's they licensed rubber figures of their five rock stars and I had the collection. Recently I found three of them (Drac and Frank are missing, of course). I still have one of the movies left to cover, and that's planned for October. But let's cover the science with today's movie.

There is no Devonian Age. There is, however, a Devonian PERIOD which is before the dinosaurs (420 to 358ish million years ago) nowhere near the 150 myo mentioned in the movie. Also, if Gill Man is supposed to be a distant relative of humans, then the split would have been between 8 and 12 myo. Picking nits? Perhaps, but changing the numbers to reflect actual science would not have impacted the story at all. Get it right, people!

The two men in the rubber costume (one for the land and one when swimming) weren't credited. Seems the marketing department thought that if there was no credit for the monster, people would assume it was real. But someone so stupid would likely not have been able to find their way to the theater in the first place.

Well acted, well made, and lasting cultural impact. Not a great film, but good. Ingmar Bergman thought it good enough to watch every year on his birthday. I'm undecided whether I will watch it again. AMRU 3.5.

Monster on the Campus (1958)

I requested Tarantula, but what I got was a three disk set of five classic Universal sci-fi and horror. Clearly the dog of the bunch was Monster on the Campus.

Dashing professor Donald Blake (Arthur Franz) convinces the university to purchase a coelacanth, which he alternatingly pronounces Sea-locanth and Sil-ocanth. Unbeknown to our dear professor, this freak of evolution was preserved using gamma radiation! The same stuff David Banner would experiment with years later! When a frat dog drinks the blood of this fish (ew!) he reverts back to an earlier evolutionary stage. For a while. Then he's fine.

Our good doctor decides to carry the fish by putting his hand into it's mouth, thus cutting himself. Then when he tries to move the box filled with foul fish water (irradiated prehistoric fish blood water), he puts his injured hand RIGHT INTO THE SCUM! Good going, captain cross-contamination! Maybe wash the hand? No, you've go to go straight to a formal event. No time to shower.

When he starts feeling ill (I'm starting to feel ill myself), a hot assistant drives him home. Then a strange metamorphosis overtakes him! He becomes a violent idiot wearing a rubber mask! Well, he wakes up and the assistant is dead and he has no memory.

I could tell you about the second time he stupidly contaminates himself and causes another death, but we can take it as read, can't we? This is a Universal picture directed by Jack Arnold, so we might think it's a well made thriller. We would be wrong. It's title may lead us to believe it's chuck full of campy goodness, but no such luck. The only students that have speaking rolls are Troy Donahue as a vacant frat boy and his bland girlfriend. This movie is a stinker.

Testimony to this movie's staying power is that it took me twenty minutes into it to realize that I had seen it already only a couple years ago. It was on my public domain horror set. I remembered little except the Doctor Jekyll meets Professor Darwin subject matter.

Sub par acting for Universal, sub par script, stupid story line, god-awful special effects. I've seen worse, but I expected so much more. AMRU 2.5.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

Scott Carey and wife are relaxing on his brother's boat. When Scott sends his wife below deck to fetch refreshments, a mysterious white cloud passes over him. Strange, but he thinks nothing of it. Six months later Scott starts to notice that his clothes don't fit anymore. Slowly he comes to the realization that he is slowly shrinking.

We watch as he comes to terms with his life and is confronted with more and more physical obstacles. His outlook becomes sour, except for a brief time when he was banging a hot midget.

Look where Sci-Fi brings us. We've explored space, the distant reaches of our planet, deep underground, and now the commonplace becomes fraught with danger. That reminds me, I've got to add Fantastic Voyage to my list.

Another well made Universal film. I never saw it as a kid and I'm glad I did. I remember that Tommy Chong quote from It Came from Hollywood. Look it up. AMRU 3.5.

Tarantula (1955)

"I knew Leo G. Carroll was over a barrel when Tarantula took to the hills" Thing is, Leo himself didn't know (the) tarantula took to the hills until the very end. Eighth of eleven movies referenced in Science Fiction/Double Feature. Six down, five to go. And one is waiting for me at the library.

John Agar is Dr. Matt Hastings, country doctor. He becomes curious what professor Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) is doing in his research laboratory twenty miles from town in the middle of the dessert when his colleague is found dead with an advanced case of Acromegaly, a ridiculous sounding made up disease ... oh, it's real? Well, how about that.

Anyhow, Deemer goes back to his lab of oversized rabbits, guinea pigs, and spiders, when another unmentioned colleague with advanced stages of acromegaly attacks and injects him with the "nutrient". During the scuffle, the lab is damaged in a fire and the spider cage is broken open, allowing (the) tarantula to take to the proverbial hills. Hastings, country doctor and amateur sleuth, gets the opportunity to investigate when hot young lab assistant (named Steve) arrives for her first scientifical job. Dr. Hastings, country doctor, amateur sleuth, and babe hound, likes very much.

Universal knew how to make a B movie back in the day. Solid script and acting, and the special effects were great for the day. In contrast to Killers from Space, made the year earlier, the oversized animals in Tarantula look real. In Killers, it they looked ridiculous. Peter Graves, may he rest in peace, and may he never be judged by that piece of crap movie. Tarantula totally delivered. It had atmosphere, suspense, and a good story. I'm not saying I'm surprised it didn't get nominated for any awards. It is what it is, and it totally delivered. My boys weren't watching but I think they would all have liked it. Director Jack Arnold was the master. AMRU 3.5.

Oh, and body count for the tarantula is six. Look for a quick scene near the end with a young Clint Eastwood.

It Came from Outer Space (1953)

"And at a deadly pace
it came from outer space
and this is how the message ran ..."

Actually, that message was "go away and leave us alone!" Yup. Fifth movie referenced in the song Science Fiction/Double Feature. Pipe-smoking amateur astronomer (Richard Carlson) and his hot girlfriend (Barbara Bush ... I mean Barbara Rush) see what they assume to be an asteroid. They investigate. They, along with a pilot friend, discover a giant crater. Astronomer boy thinks it's a good idea to climb down to take a look. He sees, not a meteor, but a space ship, complete with aliens. There is a cave in and he barely escapes. The ship is totally covered and nobody believes him. At least, not until some of the townspeople start acting real strange.

I noticed straight away that much of the plot was borrowed for Alien Trespass (2009), right down to the astronomer's pipe and hot wife/girlfriend. Another thing of interest is, see that hot blond on the cover? If she has a full half-minute of screen time I'd be surprised. Blond, busty, trampy, all good things, but still I'd choose Barb Rush in a heartbeat. She was the girlfriend of a minor character played by the Professor himself, Russell Johnson. He has shown up in two Sci-Fi movies so far.

Not much more to say. We want to trust the aliens. They just want to get out of there. But why won't they show their real forms? Why are they abducting townspeople? How come they leave glitter every where they go? What's up with stealing clothes? And what's the deal with airline food? Am I right, people? Huh?

Two boys and I watched it and we all liked it. AMRU 3.5.