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| I Was a Teenage Werewolf / Invasion of the Saucer Men; July, 1957 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 17 2016, 05:42 PM (452 Views) | |
| Laughing Gravy | Dec 17 2016, 05:42 PM Post #1 |
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![]() I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) Dir. Gene Fowler, Jr. Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) Edward L. Cahn ITB Shock Theatre #188 ITB Strange Science Cinema #99-100 The best-loved (at least by me) of all the classic 1950s drive-in double features, both released on VHS decades ago (my, how time flies when we're watchin' Creature Features) and then stuck back in the Arkoff family vaults, never to be seen again. *sigh* Well, thankfully, we've got the fabled In The Balcony WAYBACK machine gassed up and ready to return to that heady summer of '57, when rock 'n' roll and werewolves ruled the airwaves of this proud nation of ours. Although it sure would be nice if SOMEBODY managed to get these films (and other long-lost AIP fare) dug out of mothballs. First up, a troubled teen goes to a psychiatrist for anger management, but did HE pick the wrong shrink: the nutty doctor turns him into a werewolf that slobbers a lot. I love this movie. I know that most people consider it to be a good "bad movie", that is, a movie that's awful but which is colossally entertaining. I disagree; I think it's a good movie. Michael Landon is the hot-headed high school kid who will beat the crap out of anybody with little provocation; Yvonne Lime is his dishy girlfriend, who convinces him to see Dr. Whit Bissell to cure his ferocious temper. Bissell is more interesting in hypnotizing him in a "regression" experiment to turn him into a wolf, because - as the doctor explains in one of the goofiest explanations in mad scientist movie history - mankind is destroying itself and only by regressing back to savage animals can they start all over and "save themselves." I'll have to see the research paper on THAT one. Some big laughs in the film; besides corny dialog, there's a very strange foreign janitor named "Pepe" in the film, and he's about the least peppy person you've ever seen. He advises cop Guy Williams (yes, THAT Guy Williams) that the killer is a werewolf, but instead of giving him some tips (silver bullets, that sort of thing) he just tells him that "nobody's ever caught one." Million-dollar Dialog: Cop Guy Williams, pooh-poohing the thought that a wild animal is killing the local teens: "I've walked these woods since I was knee-high to a duck. I've never seen anything wilder than a tomcat!" Ridiculous musical numbers are always a highlight of AIP films, and here we have a bongo player singing "Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Mo" (not very well) and dancing with a girl in a clown suit. Another highlight is when the werewolf attacks a gymnast in school; she first sees him while she's dangling from a parallel bars, so she -- and we the audience -- see the monster upside down! Great shot. Landon is quite good in the film, and it's a shame he didn't stick around for the sequel, How to Make a Monster, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. More Million-dollar Dialog: Little Joe: "People bug me." Detective: "That's right, hide behind your jive talk!" And we'll give the final word to the ill-fated Dr. Whit Bissell: "I don't like to hear the subject of a world-shaking experiment referred to as a 'victim'!" One of the best of all the exploitation films, and it's a shame it's out of circulation. Following the usual snack bar ads and a weird Casper cartoon called Down to Mirth with Casper turned super-hero to fight a mad scientist with an anti-gravity ray(!) - hey, we're near the end of Casper's theatrical run, not a bad thing - we enjoyed the trailer for next week's film, as Robby the Robot returns to meet The Invisible Boy! Wow! On to our next picture, another real favorite that languishes in the vaults, Invasion of the Saucer Men (called "Invasion of the Saucer-Men" on the poster, but non-hyphenated, trust me). A flying saucer lands out near Lovers Lane, right next to the farm of cranky farmer Raymond Hatton, and the cowchips really hit the fan: the ship is peopled by tiny men with giant Brussels Sprouts craniums, who can shoot lethal levels of alcohol out of their retractable spiked claws, and did I TELL you this was a great movie, or WHAT?!?!? Frank Gorshin wants to capture one and put it on display, but he ends up at the end of the spiked claws; his buddy, Cadet Happy from Space Patrol (Lyn Osborne), doesn't buy it; and when teens Steve Terrell and Gloria Castillo run over one of 'em, the darn thing's amputated HAND crawls after them! Plus, nobody sings in this movie, too! Yep. A gem. It's based on a story called The Cosmic Frame by Paul Fairman, and adapts the story very well, actually, fleshing it out (way out) and making it more of a comedy than anything else (we're told that director Cahn told the heads of AIP, "This story is ridiculous and the monsters look stupid. If try to make it serious we're going to look like idiots"). (I just read the story, it's in a book I have of short stories that were turned into science-fiction movies. Hey, I do MY research, bub.) Million-dollar Dialog: Steve, noting that a Saucer Man is pummeling the family hot rod: "He's banging away at the fender of our car with some kind of crazy hammer. I'll bet he thinks the car's responsible for killing his buddy!" Gloria: "What do you mean?" Steve: "Well, you know how savages blame the rain god for every storm..." This marks the 99th and 100th entries in our chronological listing of 1950s sci-fi movies; you'll find the entire list HERE with links to all 100 reviews. Enjoy, Balconeers! Edited by Laughing Gravy, Jan 23 2017, 07:56 PM.
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| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Dec 20 2016, 06:33 AM Post #2 |
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And yes, I have this. Mint in the Box. You know me.
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| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| The Batman | Dec 20 2016, 09:50 AM Post #3 |
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Sounds interesting. What is the name of this tome? |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Don Diego | Dec 20 2016, 03:41 PM Post #4 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Bats - They Came from Outer Space |
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| The Batman | Dec 20 2016, 07:00 PM Post #5 |
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Thanks, Don. It's a shame these two films aren't available on DVD, I've heard about them over the years, but have never had the chance to see either one. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Dec 20 2016, 07:31 PM Post #6 |
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It is They Came from Outer Space, and the stories I've read so far (as I work my way through Shock Theatre and Strange Science) have included: - Dr. Cyclops by Henry Kuttner - Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr. ("The Thing") - Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates ("The Day the Earth Stood Still") - The Fog Horn by Ray Bradbury ("The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms") - Deadly City by Ivar Jorgenson ("Target Earth") - The Alien Machine by Raymond F. Jones ("This Island Earth") - The Cosmic Frame by Paul W. Fairman ("Invasion of the Saucer Men") Next up: "The Fly" by George Langelaan Bats, when Sam Arkoff sold off his library of films, he kept five in perpetuity to serve as future income for his estate: besides these two I just reviewed, the others are I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, The Amazing Colossal Man, and It Conquered the World. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| The Batman | Dec 20 2016, 08:46 PM Post #7 |
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Thanks, LG, definitely want to pick up that book. I don't get it, if he retained those films for future income, why aren't they available on DVD? I want to see them all! |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Dec 20 2016, 09:07 PM Post #8 |
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I understand that his family was not happy with the money they made from the VHS releases of so many years ago. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| The Batman | Dec 20 2016, 10:09 PM Post #9 |
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They need a new agent. The fan base for these films ain't getting any younger. A Blu-Ray set of all five would be the best way to go. So, tell them already. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Don Diego | Dec 21 2016, 09:40 AM Post #10 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Bats check your in box |
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| Sgt Saturn | Dec 21 2016, 12:32 PM Post #11 |
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Charter Member
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Familiar names all Of course, "Ivar Jorgenson" was a pen-name used my many writers. Does the book say who he was in this time? (RR, can you shed any light?) |
| The Ol' Sarge | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Dec 21 2016, 05:54 PM Post #12 |
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No note here on Ivar. I have all the VHS incarnations of the five "out of circ" Arkoff films and a couple of them on grey market DVDs, too. All five were licensed to Best Brains for use on Mystery Science Theater, but NOT for home release - and so when the MST3K guys accidentally released their Amazing Colossal Man on VHS, it was quickly deleted. The only other use of them I know is on Cinemax many years ago, as part of a film festival of "Films Never Released on DVD." They did a whole Arkoff week and showed one a day, along with some of his films that WERE eventually released on DVD, like Viking Women and the Sea Serpent, and Earth vs. the Spider. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer | Jan 16 2017, 11:12 AM Post #13 |
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Sapient Balconeer
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Since Don Diego posted a link to The Amazing Colossal Man I saw this movie on the site, so let me link to IT. |
| It's like Rodney King used to say, "Can't we all get a bong." | |
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| The Batman | Jan 16 2017, 11:56 AM Post #14 |
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Thanks, Stony, another one to check out until an official DVD release. In the mean time, the site I mentioned that has THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN also has this one. They say the version they have is fullscreen, and IMDb says the film is widescreen. Has anyone seen this film and what is the proper aspect ratio? |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Jan 16 2017, 12:40 PM Post #15 |
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Wide-screen. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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