Also known as THE MAN WHO LIVED TWICE and directed by Robert Stevenson (who later became an in-house director for the Walt Disney studios) this mad doctor movie occupies the middle position in terms of quality between THE GHOUL and JUGGERNAUT among Boris Karloff's 1930's English films. It holds up very well today thanks to Karloff's excellent performance and likeable support from Anna Lee and John Loder. Donald Calthorpe contributes another of his very believable portraits of a truly unpleasant man and Karloff seems to work well with a chimpanzee. Stevenson's direction is above average for this kind of fare.
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| The Man Who Changed His Mind |
027 ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS (1957) Directed by Roger Corman *
This Corman film is one of the few that has eluded me over the years so it is nice to finally catch up with it.
While it is certainly no masterpiece it remains watchable - if, of course, you are tuned into this kind of no budget extravaganza. The plot is quite delirious with a group of scientists investigating the disappearance of some colleagues on a deserted island encounter giant crabs (radiation, of course) who not only "absorb"
luckless humans and in one bizarre case actually talks with its victim's French accent. Russell Johnson is the hero who saves us all from the threat.
028 SECRET INVASION (1964) Directed by Roger Corman **
One of the films made during the Roger Corman European jaunt which resulted in such films as ATLAS and Coppola's DEMENTIA 13, this is a cut-price DIRTY DOZEN with Stewart Granger leading his dirty five on a secret mission in the Balkans prior to the Allied invasion of Italy. The cast is surprisingly good with Ed Byrnes, Raf Vallone, William Campbell and Henry Silva doing good work. The only letdown is Mickey Rooney who overacts madly as a continually wisecracking IRA man. The film received some good reviews when first released despite a complete disregard of period detail (suits and haircuts are pure 1960's) and, indeed, there are some striking ideas and effective sequences
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| Secret Invasion |
Also Viewed :
029 HANNIBAL RISING (2007) Directed by Peter Webber ***
030 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) Directed by Jonathan Demme ****
2 comments:
I saw the Crab Monster at the original Scala during their bad movies season along side such classics as Robot Monster, Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, Queen of Outer Space (pink tinted version), Plan 9 from outer space,Glen or Glenda,Monster on Campus and Jesse James meets Frankensteins daughter. Oh the fun we had!
....but what were the bad films?
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