The Tell-Tale Heart (1953)

4 / 5 Apr '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Ted Parmelee
Written by: Edgar Allan Poe, Bill Scott
Actors include: James Mason
Genre: Animation, Short, Crime, Horror
Length: 8 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I didn't really know this story before watching this, I knew something about the floorboards but nothing else. Pretty neat really, it's about a crazy Man who is obsessed with his old Man Landlord's eye. I love the style of animation used here, it's so very gothic and dark yet claustrophobic in a way. It does a fantastic job of building the tension and sort of putting us in the mind of the crazy Man. It's only 8 minutes long so it's definitely to the point, and the story is told through narration. It manages to be a bit creepy, and interesting definitely worth a viewing, I wish there were more like this one but alas I haven't seen any.

Availability:  not on DVD I believe

The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) aka Monster From Beneath The Sea

4 / 5 Dec '09
Tagline: It's alive!
Directed by: Eugene Lourie
Written by: Ray Bradbury, Fred Freiberger
Actors include: Lee Van Cleef, Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Length: 80 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
After an atomic test bomb thingy goes off a gigantic Rhedosaurus wakes up from his frozen sleep and starts terrorizing the cities and buildings of New York. It's actually rather similar to ゴジラ [Godzilla] but actually since this was 1953 it came first! I believe super stop-motion genius Ray Harryhausen even claimed that ゴジラ [Godzilla] ripped this one off! The effects are most impressive, the dinosaur is big and menacing and has some decent munches, snatches and destruction behind him. We are even treated to a fight between an octopus and a whale of sorts! It's a bit wooden on start-up but hold on to your had because it has a thrilling finale, rollercoaster action and some definitely amusing moments. This was based around a short story from Ray Bradbury so it's pretty darned interesting as one might imagine. I think this is a public domain flick or at least it's available for next to nothing just about anywhere I go. Grab it up, it's definitely one of the better early sci-fi flicks!

Availability:  On DVD

The War Of The Worlds (1953)

4.5 / 5 Dec '09
Tagline: Amazing! terrifying! The most savage spectacle of all time!
Directed by: Byron Hasking
Written by: H.G. Wells, Barré Lyndon
Actors include: Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror
Length: 84 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This was one heck of an exciting alien invasion flick. The effects were actually amazing especially when one considers this was 1953! It's no wonder they won an Oscar for the effects work. From the city being destroyed to the actual aliens, it's all really effective and exciting. The idea is that an alien ship has landed (they look sorta like swans), and people are trying to greet them in peace...the only trouble is these aliens aren't exactly friendly. It's a non-stop fast paced destructive masterpiece, stuff being blown up and action galore! I was actually surprised this was in color (as I'd always assumed it was black and white) but it's very vivid, the actors do a good job in this and it's full of tension and thrills. I've never seen the remake but I probably would after this, definitely one of the best science fiction films I've seen.

Availability:  On DVD