TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS (1957)

ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS (1957)

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1957 was a busy year for producer/director Roger Corman and this is another of his cult classics. This flick finds a group of scientists and navy men going to a deserted island to study the effects of H-bomb test fallout. One of the side effects of the nuclear dusting is some of the crabs have mutated to giants the size of Cadillacs and with the power to absorb the minds of their human food. Can this group survive as the colossal crabs decimate their number and steal their brains?

Giant mutated crabs would have been enough for most filmmakers during the 50s nuclear age cinema, but Corman had to give them the ability to absorb and use peoples minds, too. The sheer audacity of it alone may explain why this was a big hit for the producer. This was another movie Corman directed from a script by frequent collaborator Charles B. Griffith and once again he takes his subject matter seriously even though our main attractions are giant talking, brain sucking crabs. Corman gives this one a fairly fast pace, it is legitimately spooky at times and has a healthy does of intensity. The serious tone from both director and his cast…including future “Professor” from Gilliagan’s Island, Russell Johnson…helps the audience take our crustacean bad guys more seriously. As for the creatures, they actually don’t look that bad considering this is a low budget film and Corman keeps them hidden till the last act. As silly as the plot may sound, this is actually a decent horror flick despite the outrageous plot elements and Corman’s thrifty style makes good use of minimal sets and outdoor locations. There is also a bit of a charming cheese factor, but it’s a lot better than one might think and about the best a talking giant crab movie may ever get. One of Corman’s better low budget black and white efforts.

I was very amused by this one upon the revisit. It wasn’t as silly as it could have been and Corman took his audacious plot and ran with it. By the time we meet our villains they have been given enough of a threat factor to make them work, despite they are talking paper mache crabs. A fun and surprisingly effective atom age monster movie from Roger Corman.

-MonsterZero NJ

3 crabs pre-atomic mutation.

 

 

 

 

TOMB OF NOSTALGIA: IT CONQUERED THE WORLD (1956)

IT CONQUERED THE WORLD (1956)

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I recently began reading Roger Corman’s autobiography How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime and it made me want to revisit some of his earliest films that I first saw on TV’s Chiller Theater and Creature Features as a kid.

One of Corman’s earliest flicks as a producer and director, this thriller tells the story of an alien invader from Venus, who isn’t particularly happy that earth has started sending satellites into space. It comes here to invade using bat-like creatures to take over people’s minds and with the help of bitter earth scientist, Dr. Tom Anderson (Lee Van Cleef) who believes earth needs ‘saving’ by this higher intelligence. Standing in the way of this nefarious plot is scientist Dr. Paul Nelson (Peter Graves) along with some feisty heroines and the usual soldiers and military types that populated films of this era.

Corman directs with a serious hand, from the script by Lou Rusoff and frequent Corman collaborator Charles B. Griffith, despite that his creature looks like a combination of cucumber and crustacean. He shot it in about two weeks on a budget far lower than the average Hollywood flick of the time and the production looks better than one might expect due to Corman thriftiness. While the creature FX are cheesy and the dialogue equally so, it ads charm to a fun movie, all the more amusing for taking itself so seriously despite it’s outlandish plot and monster. Corman gets good work out of his cast, which also includes frequent Corman actress Beverly Garland (Swamp Woman, Not of This Earth) and Sally Fraser, who was in such cult classics as Earth vs. the Spider and War Of The Colossal Beast. The film, due to it’s small budget, does focus more on character drama than creature hi-jinx, but it’s atmospheric and keeps one interested till the military finally take on the alien dictator in true 50s creature feature fashion. There is also a very effective mood building score by Ronald Stein who composed for many a Corman classic. If you love the sci-fi flicks of this decade, this is one of the classics and an early example of the low budget entertainment that made Roger Corman one of the most successful producers of all time and an underrated director.

I had a fun time watching this again. It’s judged due to it’s cheesy creature, but the monster has become iconic, representing the creature features of the 50s and the film is better than it is given credit for. It obviously influenced future alien invader flicks, just look at Without Warning’s flying creature weapons as a perfect example and as usual with a Corman production, features future stars like Van Cleef and Graves. Corman is now a legend for making these kind of inexpensive but profitable features and who cares if it’s title monster looks like it could hide in a salad bar or seafood buffet. A fun example of what made the 50s era monster flicks so endearing. Also features frequent Corman actor, the legendary, Dick Miller as a soldier.

-MonsterZero NJ

3 alien vegetable/crustacean hybrids with a taste for megalomania.

 

 

 

 

 

it conquered the world