Matinee Monday - Village of the Giants (1965)

Check out those giant . . um . . . teenagers

The other night TCM had a cheesefest-athon of  the films of Bert I Gordon.  He apparently was quite good at making cheesy films about mutating things that grow to become huge.  This addition to his film pantheon seems to be a mix between a 1960's surfer movie and a vehicle for the Ron Howard.  It's almost like the Howards had something against someone at the studio and they were like "Let's make a film starring Ron Howard so they stop blackmailing us - I don't care what it is, just throw in almost naked teens with slow motion gyrations segments, dancing, musical groups, Flubber, little Ronny Howard, Toni Basil with some choreography and strange orange wig, and for some reason Beau Bridges.  

Matinee Monday - Creature With the Atom Brain (1955)

Creature With the Atom Brain (1955) poster

Creature With The Atom Brain (1955) is one of those fun, cheesy sci-fi films that could only have been made in the 50's.  I adore these films.  You can take the subject seriously or you may just enjoy the awesomeness and laugh along with the cast.

The Green Slime melts more than the Summer Sun

I watched the totally cheesetastic film, The Green Slime (1968) the other day. It stars:

Richard Jaeckel as Commander Vince Elliott who was in The Dirty Dozen, and several long runs on t.v. series including Spenser for Hire and Baywatch

Robert Horton as Commander Jack Rankin, best known as Flint McCullough on t.v.'s Wagon Train

And the gorgeous Luciana Paluzzi as Dr. Lisa Benson, best known for her role as Bond Girl, Fiona Volpe in 1965's Thunderball, opposite the yummy Sean Connery

And of course, the lovely Green Slime! The slime goes nuts melting people, so it has to be killed - but it gets outside the space station!

Commander Vince sacrifices himself to kill the nasty multiplying bugger

Oh no!

Dr. Lisa takes control, worrying about Commander Vince

Well, they finally escape back to Earth, killing the green monsters in their wake

And the love triangle is solved, as Dr Lisa finds out Commander Vince's fate, and she can live her life with her true love, Commander Jack.

So much cheesetastic goodness!

What Stars Want Most in 1956 - Rex Reason

Rex Reason (born in Germany while family on business trip on November 30, 1928) is best known for his role in the 1955 sci-fi cheesefest This Island Earth. He walked out on his Warner Brothers contract in 1961. Frank Sinatra wanted his for the role that went to Lawrence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate, but he was sick of Hollywood and began a new career in real estate. He is brother to actor Rhodes Reason, has been married 3 times (currently to Shirley Hake since 1965), and has 5 children.

What did Rex Reason wish for in 1956:

• "Personally, I'm interested in developing young kids into actors. I'm not very old myself, but I know how hard it is to get started. I'd like to do something constructive toward helping youngsters get a break."
• "Professionally, I love the fantastic. I immensely enjoyed making This Island Earth. I'd like to do another science-fiction film."
• "As a citizen, it would be nice if there could be a nationwide plan for beautifying our gardens. I'm working on our backyard now. I don't think it would be a bad idea if everyone cleaned up and beautified his own backyard."
  

I have a couple questions:

• Will we all be leaning on leaning boards in the future?
• When will we meet the Smurf aliens, or maybe they are the blue man aliens?
• Did this really take 2 1/2 years to make?

Cheesy Sci-Fi Fest on TCM - It Came From Beneath the Sea

Enjoying some fabulous cheesy sci-fi on TCM tonight. It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955)is a great example of classic 1950s sci-fi

Of course there is some kind of creature that mutated because of some kind of atomic activity. In this case, atomic bomb tests in the ocean by the Navy creates a Giant Octopus. So enjoy the trailer in all it's suction-cup glory!

What 100 Stars Want Most in 1956 - John Agar

Since I have got off my resolutions a bit (aside from reading a vintage book a week), I thought I would find out what some stars wished for back in the day. I found this fun 1956 Movieland article listing 100 stars and what they wanted. Today's star is John Agar, probably best known for marrying Shirley Temple, whom he was divorced from in 1949. Acting wise, he basically ended up being a B Sci-fi movie regular starring in such classics as: Tarantula (1955), The Mole People (1956), The Brain from Planet Arous (1958), and Invisible Invaders (1959). I've seen Tarantula and The Mole People, and I enjoy them for the cheese factor. I am a total big fan of B Sci-fi 1950s films. I even did my senior dissertation on the subject in college. John Agar's wishes:

• My wife and I want to stay as happy as we are (Not Shirley in 1956)
• The more pictures I can do, the happier I'll be
• As a citizen, I feel that Hollywood is coming to realize the great good it can do, and I hope our films point a way for a better life for everyone, everywhere. A lot of people don't believe in "massage" pictures. I do. I believe in them all the way from "The Ten Commandments" to "On the Waterfront"

Not bad wishes. Can't say I've ever heard the term "massage" pictures.

Up next - Lana Turner & Lex Barker as well as William Bishop