Category: 1950s

Beginning of the End (1957)

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Something strange is going on in the town of Ludlow, Illinois. Namely that it’s been eaten by a swarm of big ass grasshoppers!

It takes a while for everyone to catch on to this fact and it’s only after our nosy reporter Audrey teams up with Peter Graves’ Dr. Wainwright does the mystery of what happened to Ludlow begin to be unraveled.

On her way to cover another story, Audrey happens upon the National Guard’s roadblock preventing people from going to where Ludlow used to be. After compromising her journalistic integrity in two seconds flat by agreeing to not report anything until the government says she can so that she can have access to the site, she tours the ruins of Ludlow. Continue reading “Beginning of the End (1957)” →

The Fly (1958)

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The Fly opens up with Vincent Price’s brother under an industrial press, his head and arm pulped into unrecognizability. Price (François) sees this and kind of screws up his face in one those “eww, yucky!” expressions like his brother has cooties or something. Then he gets the call all of us fear: his sister confessing that she squashed her husband because he had become part man and part fly! Continue reading “The Fly (1958)” →

Earth vs. the Spider (1958)

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Heck, this spider wasn’t all that! It didn’t even take the entire Earth to fight it like the title promised! They should’ve called this one Egghead Professor & Redneck Sheriff vs. The Spider. Sure, it sounds like another hideous iteration of those Doll Man-Demonic Toys-Puppetmaster team ups, but director Bert I. Gordon (Attack Of The Puppet People, Empire Of The Ants) clearly knows how to make a movie where stuff isn’t the right size! Continue reading “Earth vs. the Spider (1958)” →

Attack of the Puppet People (1958)

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This is a sturdy entry in that genre of horror film where stuff is either way too big or way too small. In this case, you’ve got a bunch of people shrunk down by a mad doll maker instead of giant puppets running around killing people like the title tricked me into believing I’d be seeing!

As directed by Bert I. Gordon (master of cheap movies about giant and small creatures harassing one another), this film is a bit of psychological thriller about a dude who has gone around the bend since his wife ran away with some other guy. Why would a woman want to leave a guy who makes his living playing with dolls? Didn’t she know she could get all the special edition Barbies at a discount? Continue reading “Attack of the Puppet People (1958)” →

Tarantula (1955)

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Tarantula PosterThis is the very best of all the giant tarantula movies. Where the pretenders rely on cheap gimmicks, overexposed spiders, and dippy teens, Tarantula treats its subject matter with a serious, adult viewpoint. Which is good since I might have otherwise thought the scheme by the mad doctor to help feed Earth’s exploding population by developing a nutrient that grows things to super size was executed only in a fashion that would benefit a cheesy 1950s horror movie. Continue reading “Tarantula (1955)” →

Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)

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Nine months after Richard Burton was harassed into becoming a Christian by a red beach towel in The Robe, Hollywood decided it was time for a sequel. Since this whole Christian thing worked out so well for Burton and co-star Jean Simmons (you might recall they ended up on the wrong end of the archery field at the end of The Robe), it was left to Victor Mature to run around squawking about this robe and how it can just butt out of his life when things get rough.

Everyone’s favorite character in this movie (well, aside from the robe – it’s kind of hard to be a real Christian and not pick the robe) is Strabo, the tough but lovable guy that runs the gladiator school and played by Ernest Borgnine. Continue reading “Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)” →