Tag: Morris Ankrum
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From the Earth to the Moon
Two rival arms manufacturers strike an uneasy truce to create a rocket to the moon. Byron Haskin’s ill-fated would-be epic never quite gets off the ground, tied down by a talky, slow-moving script and woefully badly written characters whose motivations never become clear. 3/10
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How to Make a Monster
A makeup artist manipulates his actors to kill the studio brass that is shutting down horror movie production. AIP’s third and last teenage monster movie is a self-aware pastiche. The script makes no sense, but it is an entertaining romp. 5/10
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Beginning of the End
Radiation is once again to blame as giant grasshoppers devour Chicago in Bert I. Gordon’s 1957 cult classic. While inept in most departments, it boasts a decent cast and is a lot of fun to watch. 4/10.
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The Giant Claw
In essence, The Giant Claw from 1957 is a decent monster movie programmer. The ludicrous monster ruins the film – but it is also the only thing that qualifies this movie for the status of a cult classic. 5/10
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Kronos
A giant alien machine descends to Earth and proceeds to drain the planet of energy in this 1957 Fox B-movie. The script is creaky, but this is a fairly original and well designed low-budget effort from the mind of Irving Block. 6/10
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Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
Columbia’s 1956 classic is the epitome of the 50’s UFO movie. The script is clichéd and the production cheap, but Ray Harryhausen’s animation and the taut direction make this a fun, highly intertaining saucer ride. 7/10
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Invaders from Mars
This 1953 classic is the most visually unabashed SF movie of the 50s. While hampered by a low budget, this first “invasion of the body snatchers” film scared a generation of kids witless, but also contains interesting themes for adults to chew on. 7/10
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Red Planet Mars
A scientist receives messages from Mars, and the sender appears to be Jesus Christ himself. However, it is all a commu-nazi trick to destroy Western capitalism. Or is it? Would this 1952 red scare film not have taken itself so utterly seriously, it might have been fun. 1/10
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Flight to Mars
The first team of explorers to Mars are welcomed and double-crossed by a Martian civilisation attempting to hijack their rocket and invade Earth. A 1951 low-budget effort by Monogram, the movie’s striking for its visuals, but badly scripted and routinely directed. 5/10.
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Rocketship X-M
Poverty Row studio Lippert Pictures rushed Rockethip X-M into theatres in 1950, ahead of the much-hyped big-budget production Destination Moon, claiming the title of the first American space exploration movie. Despite its cash-grab nature, in some ways it actually surpasses its heavy-going “original”. 6/10
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