Edward L. Cahn (1899–1963)

Beautifully atmospheric, claustrophobic, genuinely creepy monster flick, an obvious ancestor of Ridley Scott's "Alien." Decent acting, the monster is obviously a guy in a suit, but the film does what it needs to do-- suspends your disbelief an puts you on that ship. One of my favorite Fifties Sci-Fi flicks.

Solid, hard-talking B-picture that sees career criminal Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr) being released from jail and immediately going into planning on his next job – the heist of an armoured truck carrying casino cash. Info for the job has come from Wheeler’s ex-cell mate, Mike Bennett (Lee Van Cleef) and involves Mike’s beautiful but estranged wife Vi Victor (Mamie Van Doren). Planning for the job is going well, until the jealous and hot-headed Bennett breaks out of prison. There is show more nothing particularly new about “Guns, Girls and Gangsters” but director Edward L. Cahn keeps the unlikely story barrelling along with plenty of hard-boiled dialogue, strong-man posturing and femme fatale moves. There is a slightly ludicrous, deadly serious voiceover that explains all the plot points before coming to an unintentionally silly closing line. The cast is good – Gerald Mohr is appropriately menacing and charming in the lead role; Lee Van Cleef is a powerful tough guy and platinum blonde Mamie Van Doren sashays about to great effect in her bullet bra and out-of-bounds hips. show less

Jonathan Drake (Eduard Franz ) is shocked to discover that his deceased brother's head has disappeared ahead of his funeral. The police are stumped but Jonathan is soon on the trail of an ancient family curse involving Amazonian Indians and shrunken heads. The film plays out like a mediocre Twilight Zone episode and is obviously constrained by its budget and limited sets. The plot is a more than a touch plodding, but the whole thing is given impetus by some surprisingly solid "gore" effects, show more some nice black-and-white photography and a creepy, scenery-chewing performance by Henry Daniell, as the mysterious Dr. Zurich. show less

2021 movie #201. 1958. With a plot that sounds like "Alien", it could have been decent. But it's not. Hilariously terrible. In one scene they try to kill the monster on the spaceship with a bazooka. Spoiler alert: it doesn't work. Neither did the hand and gas grenades, or pistols