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david-puckett
Reviews
Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)
So bad it's good? Not quite!
When I first saw this film in the sixties when I was young, I loved it. I was shopping for videos in the early 90's and found this one on VHS. For the sake of nostalgia, I bought it. This is more comedy than science fiction. The aliens are silly looking and the usual teenagers vs the monsters plot leaves much to be desired. The aliens in the movie Mars Attacks were obviously based on the ones in this film. It is easy to understand why this is no longer available on tape. I might have been the only person that bought it.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
The Original and Still The Best
This is the film that made Godzilla an American star. The choice of Raymond Burr to play the role of Steve Martin is a bit surprising and makes me wonder if he needed the work or was assigned to the role. He does an admirable job. Godzilla would never look as threatening or scary as in this entry. The film is dark looking and gives it a somewhat film-noirish appearance.Much has been made of the film being a morality play with it's anti-nukes message but that meant little to thousands of youngsters who thrilled to the movie in the early sixties. Aurora released a model based on this film and Godzilla also had his own comic book. This is by far the best of the Godzilla films.
The Werewolf (1956)
A Pleasant Surprise For Horror Buffs
This is quite a good low budget film with a new twist to the werewolf story. There is nothing supernatural here. Forget the wolfbane and the silver bullets. Steven Ritch has the lead role and does a splendid job, making the monster even more sympathetic than the long suffering Larry Talbot of the Universal Wolfman flicks. His character, Duncan Marsh, appears in a mountain town having no memory of who he is or how he got there. Leaving a tavern, he is followed by a man who intends to rob him. The man pulls him into an alley and the werewolf claims his first victim. The story plays well the rest of the way. We find out that Duncan Marsh's condition is brought on by two doctors who use him as a test subject while treating him for injuries sustained in a car accident. A supporting cast of unknowns do a decent job of being believable. Elenore Tanin is especially effective as Duncan Marsh's wife. The Big Bear Lake locations give the film a lot of help.
The Song of Bernadette (1943)
Deeply Moving and Not To Be Missed
I remember seeing this film on television in the early sixties when I was about five or six. Even though the subject matter was beyond me at the time, the visual images and the music was deeply embedded in my mind. Now the movie has been released on DVD and I have seen the movie as an adult for the first time. Having read several books on the subject over the years I was prepared for viewing it. I was not disappointed. One of the most marvelous things about this film is the musical score. Without the score the movie would be half of what it is. Jennifer Jones is wonderful in her debut appearance and the supporting cast includes such veterans as Vincent Price, Charles Bickford and Anne Revere. Regardless of your religious convictions most people will find this film to be a wonderfully spiritual experience.