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Don' t take it too seriously!
If you have nothing to do, the weather is rainy and cold and there is nothing to watch or even read in your home, come for this amazing and grotesque characterization. It is delirious portrait of fantastic humor, if I may use this term.
"She may have been contaminated."
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman has the best poster of any monster movie from the 1950s, but it's one of the cheapest sci-fi pictures I've ever seen. I saw it yesterday at a local theater as part of a double feature with the giant ant classic Them!, including cartoon, trailers for films like the Ronald Reagan western Law and Order (another film directed by Nathan Juran), and a 1934 Flash Gordon serial.
Come on ! on DVD pleeeaaasseee!!
I used to watched it in LD. It is great classic. Although I weep at the end, but it's real classic. Come on, man.. I should collect it on DVD! ... Read more

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Reviews (21)

KING KONG FROM VENUS & ITS GETTING BIGGER
This Ray Harryhausen sci-fi thriller from 1957 has many of the elements of "King Kong", "The Blob", and the "Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" all tidily bundled into a fun-fest for fans of 50s creature-features!
Saterdays At The Movies
This movie smacks of the 50's era monster movies. The story
Ray Harryhausen's classic Sci-Fi Creature Creation
"Twenty Million Miles to Earth" is a superb example of 1950's sci-fi story telling and special effects at their very best. The film has so many different things to offer a sci-fi buff like myself, top notch work by genius Ray Harryhausen, wonderful on-location photography in the beautiful Eternal City Rome, and one of the best monster creations of the entire 1950's decade in the famed "Ymir" from Venus. Indeed "monster" is not really an appropiate title in this case for this visitor from beyond the stars is a creature very much in the "King Kong" mode of being a sympathetic victim of man's lack of care and understanding in bringing him out of his own environment into a strange new world he does not understand.Read more

Subjects:  1. Horror / Sci-Fi / Fantasy    2. Movie    3. Science Fiction   

Editorial Review

When the evil magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher) shrinks Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant) to roughly half the size of a Barbie doll, only one thing can restore her: the egg of a Roc. The Roc, of course, is a gigantic bird that lives on the remote island of Colossa. Sinbad (Kerwin Mathews) hires a crew of mutiny-minded convicts and sets sail, Sokurah in tow, but runs afoul of a fire-breathing dragon, a very ticked off Cyclops, and an equally crabby two-headed mutant Roc. This swashbuckling adventure was the first installment of the Sinbad films, and decades later it still has the power to hold viewers spellbound. Thatcher is terrific as the sinister, shaven-headed Sokurah, mugging perfectly for the camera, and Mathews is suitably dashing as Sinbad.Read more

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Reviews (58)

THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD is a Classic
THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD is a spectacular print. This film is a favorite of mine. The print on this DVD is extraordinary. The colors are vibrant and the representations are incredibly sharp and clear. This is the first time you can really admire Ray Harryhausen's Special Effects in this film. They don't look blurred or fuzzy. Bernard Herrmann's score is outstanding and hauntingly beautiful at times and very powerful at others. Kerwin Mathews is ever so stoically valiant as Sinbad. Torin Thatcher is the consummate evil sorcerer, Sokurah. I was disappointed that the DVD was not in stereo. However, the images are so good it doesn't matter.

MY WISH! Give this movie 7 stars. I shall try o' master. I shall try.
Oh! How I will never forget seeing the re-release of this film.
classic
I remember watching this for the first time back when i was in the first grade. And it captured my imagination. The scene with the cyclops smashing the sailors with the tree and roasting that guy is worth buyin. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action / Adventure    2. Movie    3. Science Fiction   

Editorial Review

Beware of global warming! After an arctic glacier undergoes a sudden mysterious thaw, the world faces the wrath of a not-so-jolly green giant in this moderately diverting big bug movie. Although the handsomely produced film follows the standard '50s monster movie playbook--plentiful stock footage, tired characterizations, a lengthy intro documenting the wonderfulness of a newfangled gizmo named radar, etc.--a little too closely to be truly memorable, it nonetheless remains a more than acceptable time-waster, with above-average special effects and a nicely atmospheric conclusion inside the Manhattan Tunnel. Writer-producer William Alland, in addition to being affiliated with some of the period's greatest achievements in the horror/sci fi genres (including the classic Read more

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Reviews (27)

No No No
Although I've seen many movies worse than this one, there is no way I can possibly call the Deadly Mantis good in any way.
Better Than Average Giant Bug Flick from Universal Pictures
From the golden age of Universal Pictures, "The Deadly Mantis" (1957) is an above-average giant insect film directed by Nathan Juran in glorious black and white. The film stars William Hopper (no pun intended), who may be remembered from the classic Perry Mason television series, as well as Craig Stevens and Alix Talton (the two love interests). A giant prehistoric mantis thaws out in the arctic, aggravating air force personnel and eating civilians along its way as it buzzes through the skies to New York.Considering the believability quotient of the aforementioned subject matter, Juran, who also directed 1957's"20 Million Miles to Earth," somehow manages to lend credibility to this tale with his ability to convey a sense of earnestness and realism throughout, while good acting and special effects help highlight the film as well. The movie bears some resemblance to "Tarantula" (1955),another classic Universal giant insect film, especially when heroine Talton sees the huge creature's eyes staring in at her through the windows. Unlike "Tarantula," however, part of the appeal of "The Deadly Mantis" is that it doesn't confine itself to the stuffiness of a small town, and as a result, may generate more excitement for some viewers. Also, it is noteworthy to mention that the creature animation effects in TDM are technically superior to the (at times) superimposed effects seen in "Tarantula." Although not nearly as superior as 1954's "Them," starring James Whitmore and mutated ants, "The Deadly Mantis" is still a worthy film that is certain to be appreciated by fans of the genre.

THE TRAGIC TALE OF 1 FARMER'S HELPER!
I recently rediscovered this long forgotten [for me at least] monster classic after looking at the video box and seeing that Nathan Juran who produced many of Ray Harryhausen's best films also produced this creature feature. Although I saw this movie when it was originally released in 1957, I did not immediately recall seeing it as I did so many others of the same period and genre like,"The Crawling Eye" and "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms". My way of gauging the value of this type of 50's MONSTER/CREATURE FEATURE today [as a mature adult] is whether or not it holds my interest first [usually by a scary credible premise], and then how much I care about the outcome the monster and the people involved. Well this is a formula film though at the time [1957] this was not a cliched theme. The monster is for the time, a very believable huge praying mantis. I have trouble finding this scary, because as a child my mother frequently told me that the praying mantis was one of only a few "good insects" the other being the "lady bug" and that it was a sin to kill one and you could be punished bya fine [if anybody found out]! Okay, so to me it is sort of like the "Giant Lady Bug" but with a sin and a possible fine thrown in as the outcome. Anyway, the film executes itself quite in the same manner as "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms","THEM" or "The Giant Behemoth", all films I enjoy often, but worth watching because they are surprisingly believable.
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Reviews (19)

Don' t take it too seriously!
If you have nothing to do, the weather is rainy and cold and there is nothing to watch or even read in your home, come for this amazing and grotesque characterization. It is delirious portrait of fantastic humor, if I may use this term.
"She may have been contaminated."
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman has the best poster of any monster movie from the 1950s, but it's one of the cheapest sci-fi pictures I've ever seen. I saw it yesterday at a local theater as part of a double feature with the giant ant classic Them!, including cartoon, trailers for films like the Ronald Reagan western Law and Order (another film directed by Nathan Juran), and a 1934 Flash Gordon serial.
Come on ! on DVD pleeeaaasseee!!
I used to watched it in LD. It is great classic. Although I weep at the end, but it's real classic. Come on, man.. I should collect it on DVD! ... Read more

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BORIS KARLOFF? LON CHANEY? TOGETHER AGAIN?
This is a true horror film, one in which I have at the top row of my horror movie shelf. Boris Karloff and Lon C haney are back in another great horror film. Packed with sword fights, murder, jealousey and obsession. Also with a great climax in which the two lovers are trying to escape from THE BLACK CASTLE. Starring Richard Greene,Boris Karloff, Stephen McNalley, Lon Chaney and the beautiful Paula Corday. A true must have horror movie.

An atmospheric leopard hunt on a Black Forest estate
I knew sooner or later I would find a horror film where Boris Karloff did not turn out to be the bad guy!Set in the 18th-century, "The Black Castle" tells of Sir Ronald Burton (Richard Greene), who believes two of his friends have been murdered by the one-eyed Count von Bruno (Stephen McNally) on his Black Forest estate.Burton arrives at the castle to investigate and discovers the Count's unhappy wife, Elga (Paula Corday) and his physician, Dr. Meissen (Karloff), are essentially prisoners.The Count and his giant, mute henchman Gargon (Lon Chaney, Jr.), recognize Burton as the person who had them captured and tortured by natives for ivory poaching in Africa.They decide to kill Burton during a leopard hunt. Interesting/suspenseful
This isn't as bad as Leonard Maltin's review would indicate. I liked this far better than the Black Room in which Karloff had the lead role. Here, Karloff has a supporting, not a staring role, but the movie is worth alook. Sets are done nicely, music reminds you of Frankenstein, and actingis good. Basic plot is about an evil Count who lives in a gothic castle,and has killed two Englishmen, whom he sought revenge on. Enter RichardGreene who is out to find what happened to them. In the process, his ownlife is in 'grave' danger. I won't ruin the ending, which is as good andsuspenseful as any. Lon Chaney Jr plays a loyal brute butler, Karloff adoctor of the Count who's not so loyal. ... Read more

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Things go from bitter cold to brutal heat for the Robinsons
"The Hungry Sea" completes the quintet of classic episodes that started off "Lost in Space" (1965-68) and defined the series as a science fiction drama. This was the exciting story of the crew of the Jupiter II spacecraft, which blasted off from Earth on a five-year voyage to explore a planet in the Alpha Centauri system, our nearest neighbor in the galaxy. But then Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris), an enemy spy, sabotaged the control system but did not get off the ship before it took off and Space Family Robinson ended up "Lost in Space."
Lost in Space at its classic best
"The Hungry Sea", episode No. five of the first season of "Lost in Space" is another of the top class episodes which were created out of material from the original unaired pilot episode and it was a direct follow on storywise to the classic "There Were Giants In The Earth". After this episode the real first season episodes began and while all excellent they did lack with a few exceptions that very exciting quality so evident in these earlier episodes. The Hungry Sea
Have seen many times one of the best from the whole series. Good Special effects ... Read more

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Solid, Entertaining 50's Western
Law and Order is a solid, entertaining western that showcases Ronald Reagan as a leading man.Reagan gives an almost John Wayne-esque performance (you could almost call him John Wayne Light in this one).Reagan is tough, but very likeable in the role and shows the charisma that would help him in his political life just a decade later.
Standard Duster - But Quite Enjoyable
Ronald Reagan stars as a lawman in the old West - bringing outlaws to justice. A amusing aside: as one of the policies he adopts to ensure law and order, the Sherriff actually imposes GUN CONTROL - no guns are allowed in town - and Reagan goes about impounding weapons from violators.A standard "Duster" from the 50's this is nonetheless an an enjoyable Western. ... Read more

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Really awesome Jupiter 2 Crash Landing Scene
Just wanted to add more to the reviews here. As most here say, the crash landing of the Jupiter 2 with John Williams music set to it was very beliveable and for its time- was way ahead.
The Jupiter II makes a truly spectacular crash landing
The first favorite television show that I had was "Twelve O'Clock High."When that went off the air the next "must see" show in my life, besides "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" (which explains a lot, I know), was "Lost in Space" (1965-68).This was the story of the Space Family Robinson, who left Earth aboard their Jupiter II spacecraft on a five-year voyage to explore a planet in the Alpha Centauri system, our nearest neighbor in the galaxy. But then Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris), an enemy spy, sabotaged the control system but did not get off the ship before it took off. "Lost in Space" were Dr. John Robinson (Guy Williams of "Zorro"), his wife Maureen (June Lockhart from "Lassie"), daughters Judy (Marta Kristen from "Beach Blanket Bingo") and Penny (Angela Cartwright from "Make Room for Daddy" and "The Sound of Music"), and son Will (Billy Mumy from a memorable episode of "The Twilight Zone"). The ship's pilot was Major Don West (Mark Goddard from "The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor") and completing the crew was the Robot (Bob May in the suit but Dick Tufeld providing the voice).
GREATEST CRASH-LANDING EVER SHOT!
"ISLAND IN THE SKY" GOES IN THE RECORD BOOKS AS THE BEST ALLTIME
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Reviews (3)

The best excitement ever for Jupiter 2 crew!
This was the very first episode I saw when I was eight years old! Seeing the Jupiter flyby around the derelict and it's entrapment was super cool! Hearing the unique ISD drive engine sound was the coolest ever sound effect of its kind! This trilled me the most! Interestingly how the plot of this episode ended up in the released movie. No doubt the writer must have liked this episode too. All Lost In Space fans must get this one for the fact that it displays the crew of the Jupiter 2 do what they do best...survive!!

Waaaaaaaaaay better than the first!
It just got better with the Jupiter 2's first encounter with alien life forms!A very suspenseful episode which later evolved into an important partt of the excelent '98 movie!

Possibly the best episode
The Derelict is considered by many devotees of the show to be the best episode. You can see Dr. Smith as a cold, calculating saboteur, before he became a prissy sissy in later episodes. The Jupiter 2 is drawn into anunfamiliar spacecraft. Dr. Smith is brave about exploring it because hethinks the ship belongs to his co-conspirators. His bravado disappears whenhe realizes his error. It's said that the LIS movie took a lot from thisepisode. I would agree. This episode, and the one before it and after itare very good. Almost straight Sci-Fi, and not a talking carrot in sight. ... Read more

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Reviews (23)

more like, "the brain from planet 'aroused'"!
A winner of a B movie with a great campy story, a pair of floating disembowled brains and enough reused footage to extend the running time to a whole 71 minutes! Our Story: a bad-boy brain crashes to earth and lures a world famous nuclear physicist and his strangely cute boy-pal out to a remote cave by blasting doses of radiation in his general direction. Everyone knows that excessive radiation is a sure-fired way to get the nuclear physicists running! The glowing-eyed brain croaks the boy-pal and inhabits the physicist, who then returns home to lunge at his pure-as-the-driven-snow fiancee. Man alive, the brain enjoys those sensations! He is here to take over the world in order to enslave the humans, in order to attack his own planet, in order to rule the universe! And he promises to take the girl along with him! "How about some lunch," she demurrs! OK so the good sheriff brain floats in and occupies the dog. Makes total sense. Somehow, the bad-boy brain gains enough matter to be whacked on the head and killed (despite that fact that many books and statuettes are launched through him during the course of the movie). Everything is OK and we assume that someone will tell the general and the Russians and all the rest who are frantically gathering up all their radioactive material to send it to Los Alamos. The good brain does not stick around to explain things to the authorities so one assumes that all the parties involved (dad, the fiancees) are thrown in jail for murdering the boy-pal and the old man sheriff who accidently wandered in while our hero was possessed by the bad brain. And they're probably fingered for the airplanes, and the nuclear explosion too.
John Agar Having His Mind Possessed In Fun 1950's Sci Fi Tale
I just love all the science fiction efforts from the 1950's. They always seem to have a real energy about them that often even makes the most absurd goings on enjoyable. The themes of these films generally dealt with the world being invaded by evil aliens intent upon destroying mankind, or having various capital cities being leveled by over sized creatures awakened by man's careless atomic testing. This little effort "The Brain From Plant Arous", was a title which until recently was strangely unfamiliar to me. Starring one of my favourite 1950's sci fi actors in John Agar it tells a slightly different tale of an evil brain (!) that travels from the Planet Arous and possesses the mind of brilliant young scientist Agar and using his body seeks to conquer the world by destroying anyone or anything that stands in its way. Despite the way out plot idea and the hilarious brain floating in mid air in many scenes I actually found the premise of this story quite an interesting one and despite the limitations of John Agar's acting style he did well in the part of the inquisitive scientist who goes through the torment of having his mind and body taken over by an evil alien force intent upon destruction. Undoubtedly this story about evil brains taking over a man's body will never be in the same class as classics from this decade such as the original "War of the Worlds", or "The Day the Earth Stood Still", however the cast do treat the material with great respect and manage to keep a real seriousness in the proceedings that makes it especially enjoyable.

"Camp" at it's best!
Talk about your super cheesy, low budget horror movie!This one is great and John Agar gained a cult following for his work in it and "Attack of the Mole People".Breal out the popcorn and cold refreshments and enjoy this one! ... Read more

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Reviews (34)

I loved it in 1962, and now my son does (but not my daughter)
I must admit that I was not as impressed with this as I was when I saw it at a birthday party in 1962.It is not so much that the special efects were crude, but that it was so monochromatic in terms of characters.Of course, in the eye of childhood memory, there were images that lived in my mind:the giant getting its hand crushed in the grain press, the leprican whose bottle prison burned "liers" who touched it, and the torch-holding arms on the castle walls that turned into sword-swinging defenses (with no diminution of light).
...but the musical version gets 5 stars!
This poor-man's "Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" is not without it's charm, but the bizarre musical version is the one to find! Sure it's a mess, but WHAT a mess! If you're a fan of strange live-action children's musicals like the K. Gordon Murray Mexican releases ("Santa Clause", "Little Red Riding Hood Meets The Monsters", etc.) then you'll want to track down the musical version for this movie. Luckily I have my copy that I had taped from cable tv in the early 1980s.

Faerie tales as they were meant to be
Jacky Rowan has just ended a bad relationship. Soon after, she witnesses a murder. When visiting her best friend Kate Hazel the next day, Jacky is sure of nothing except wondering what in her life is real. She is about to find out.
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Reviews (8)

A delight to watch
Sit down, grab your popcorn and enjoy this movie.
My 5 year old boy enjoys this show very much.
I enjoyed this show as a kid and bought it for my children. My daughter has little interest in SciFi, but my son enjoys all the classics: Forbidden Plant, Them, Godzilla, etc.He watched this every day for several days: the true seal of approval. There is suspense and adventure and buggy monsters. What more would a boy want?

Gibbs!
A famous American celebrity residing in the UK recently lamented the perfidy of the British worker after getting the builders in. Looking out the window at some builders doing up a shop across the street, I observe two men sitting drinking tea and one reading a paper. It was ever thus, as depicted in this film. The brilliant, if mercurial Professor Cavor pleads with his workers to watch the boiler harbouring his latest scientific discovery and they shrug off-handedly, engrossed as they are in a game of checkers. Needless to say the boiler explodes.It was America, of course, that inevitably boasted the first men on the moon. The afore-mentioned scene is no doubt played as a counterpoint to the Selenites moon colony which has a novel way of dealing with the likes of their own Gibbs, which is to freeze him until his nuisance value is needed. Cavor finds this equitable, and there's little doubt that the concept was close to H.G.Wells sensibilities as well, despite the film maker's insistance on a humanitarian counterpoint to the film's facist harshness with a multi-national moon landing crew at the film's beginning. Unfortunately, in the real world the American celebrity was forced to eat humble pie in order to get the house finished.Read more

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One of the great classic episodes of this memorable series
While the whole of the first season of "Lost in Space", is excellent the very early episodes that were made up out of the unaired original pilot are by far the best for excitment, special effects and intriguing storylines. No where is this more evident than in the classic episode number four "There Were Giants In The Earth" which followed on from my own personal favourite "Island In The Sky". These early scripts flowed on from each other in a continous storyline while later the episodes all became selfcontained stories within the one hour format. Strong display of the pioneering spirit and will to live!
What stands out the most in this episode is the strong level of commitment and pioneering spirit of this brave crew to survive any obstacle. This show should remind us all that hard work will pay off in the end. Of all of the shows seen I love this one the best due to the acting of Guy Williams who displays the heart and soul of a Man determined to keep his family alive. This show also shows the first use of the force field system and the weather station. My NICV Maintenance & Calibration Manual uses this show as the building block. (...)

not bad at all
I loved this episode the plot was very "cool", and you got to love that cyclops.Read more

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Good enough
A town marshal is shot and killed while pursuing a group of fleeing bank robbers.Community pillar Ben Cutler (Fred MacMurray) reluctantly agrees to become the new marshal.Cutler, a member of the outlaw-chasing posse, wounds and apprehends the trigger man, bad boy Eddie `The Kid' Campbell (Robert Vaughn.)
A Solid, If Flawed, 50's Western
Good Day For A Hanging features Fred MacMurray in what is more of a character drama than a standard Western.MacMurray plays Ben Cutler, a former Marshall who gets caught up in the aftermath of a bank robbery gone wrong.A gang of bank robbers botches what was otherwise a well planned robbery of the town bank, only to be chased out of town by the Marshall and a makeshift posse.During the chase the Marshall is shot and killed, with all of the posse as witnesses.The shooter, Eddie "the Kid" Campbell,is wounded, but relatively unharmed before he is brought back to town.
A fine Western, underrated
At the end of the decade of the 1940s Columbia Pictures was producing and releasing both Gene Autry and Durango Kid series "B" Westerns, and doing well with them. During the 1950s, Columbia upgraded to more expensive fare, and produced a number of fine color Westerns with such solid actors as Randolph Scott, Fred MacMurray, and others. GOOD DAY FOR A HANGINGwas one of several that MacMurray did for Columbia (also notable is FACE OF A FUGITIVE), and it's a very good one. MacMurray has a unique style in just about everything he does (as anyone who remembers "My Three Sons" will recall!)--more meditative and quizzical, but always likeable. He shines in GOOD DAY FOR A HANGING, and manages to convey a resolve and determination that is also at the same time very human. This is no super-hero, but rather a man of real emotions, and thus identifiable with most viewers. In the end MacMurray's reasoned determination, albeit tested severely, is proven correct.
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Editorial Review

As the sole movie co-starring Hollywood's only First Couple, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis, Read more

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Reviews (6)