50's American Horror Part Eight

THEM!

(1954)

Dir - Gordon Douglas

Overall: GOOD

 

Out of all of the nuclear-made, giant monster movies that the 1950's put out in gargantuan, (get it?), numbers, Them! from Warner Bros. is one of the best.  Credited with kicking off the "big bug" fad in this particular sci-fi sub-genre, it has a common, broad message of man's tampering with nature wielding unpredictable and in this case, dangerous results.  The maliciously over-sized ants here are initially found in the New Mexico desert where the first atom bomb test had been conducted.  There are a number of refreshing details present in Ted Sherdeman and Russell Hughes's screenplay, namely how the scientists, law officers, military, and politicians do not spend hardly any of their screen time arguing over the bug's existence or how to handle them.  By having the character's behave in a level-headed manner and with a sense of comradery with each other, it avoids taking a nihilistic approach where human nature inherently collapses into stubborn, fear-driven chaos.  Also, the threat of the title creatures is effectively tense.  Introducing flying queen ants that can lay thousands of eggs over fifteen or so years in any borrow that is large enough to house them, it certainly gives off some unwholesome vibes.  This may not have as sharp of a social commentary angle as other such movies from the era, but it is far more tightly directed and serious in presentation than it easily could have been.

THE DISEMBODIED

(1957)

Dir - Walter Grauman

Overall: MEH

A typical white-washed voodoo thriller, The Disembodied is the first theatrical film from prolific television director Walter Grauman.  Set exclusively in an undisclosed, tropical jungle, two of the tribes people with the most lines of dialog are of course played by Caucasian actors, as was the style at the time.  While it treats the natives in as primitive of a fashion as in any Hollywood production from the era that utilizes exotic mysticism as a source of terror, the true diabolical presence here is the sultry Allison Hayes.  As a conniving trophy wife, she essentially resorts to voodoo out of boredom from being cooped up in the middle of nowhere with her introverted, older husband.  So it is basically a case of the alluring, evil white lady taking advantage of scantily clad jungle people, with a square-jawed hero ultimately making the noble choice to save face.  Nothing that transpires is remotely frightening and it does not muster up much atmosphere besides some bamboo torches and tribal drums, but at a highly agreeable sixty-six minute running time, it goes through the motions in an engaging enough manner, plus Hayes makes for a sexy and wicked femme fatal.

THE ANGRY RED PLANET
(1959)
Dir - Ib Melchior
Overall: MEH

Both infamous and interesting for its poorly executed special effects, The Angry Red Planet, (Invasion of Mars, Journey to Planet Four), is actually no worse or better than any other tiny budgeted bit of science fiction fluff from the 1950s, particularly the ones regularly churned out by American International Pictures.  Producer/screenwriter Sidney W. Pink's script allows for plenty of chitter-chatter between the stock actors on screen, enough so that it is all too easy to tune-out of the proceedings the whole way through.  It takes longer than is agreeable to get to the angry red planet Mars of the title, but once there, the CineMagic effects take center stage which bathe everything in red and allow for the characters to interact with stagnant photographs of scenery, animation, and a giant mouse bat spider alien monster.  It looks ridiculous and dated, but it is also stylized in a way that sets the film apart from its black and white contemporaries.  Still, this cannot disguise the flat direction, uninspired story, cheap production values, and horrendous pacing, plus the whole thing ends on a whimper with more talking in lab coats and everyone listening to a quick, ominous message from our intergalactic neighbors without a final, climactic set piece.