Tag Archives: Leonard Mudie

The Giant Tetratron Must Be Stopped!

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Not all of the rampaging monsters of the sci-fi thrillers and horror films of the fifties A-bomb era were mutant insects, oversized lizards or gigantic humans. Some were uniquely original and a credit to their creators such as The Monolith Monsters (1957) – growing towers of meteor crystals that absorbed moisture from humans – and the square-shaped robot with cylindrical legs known as Kronos (1957), a giant alien robot that smashed everything in its path. The Magnetic Monster (1953) belongs in this latter group and is an intriguing and intelligent sci-fi thriller, despite its limited budget, modest production values and the occasional serious scene that plays better as comedy.

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The Crime Astrologer

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Every amateur detective has his own approach to crime solving but Mary Lee Ling consults the stars and birth dates to narrow down the list of suspects. When Were You Born? (1938) has a terrific premise for a detective thriller and was quite unusual in its day. Its offbeat approach to the genre is further enhanced by the casting of Anna May Wong in the central role of an astrologist whose connection to a murder victim implicates her in the police investigation.      Continue reading →

Jacques Tourneur’s Pulp Fiction Pipe Dream

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RKO may have been seen as low on the totem pole in the Hollywood hierarchy compared to MGM, Warner Bros. and other larger studios but their importance in film history is assured by a remarkable roster of talent that at one time included such directors as Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford. One of RKO’s most famous contractees was Jacques Tourneur who secured his reputation in the forties with Cat People (1942), I Walked With a Zombie (1943), The Leopard Man (1943) and Out of the Past (1947).

Tourneur’s work in the early to mid-fifties might not have matched his glory years at RKO but he still managed to turn out occasional gems like the underrated Joel McCrea western, Stars in My Crown (1950), a late period noir (Nightfall, 1956) and a cult horror classic, Curse of the Demon (1958). Even the less distinguished films from his final years are worth a look and Timbuktu (1958) is a genuine curiosity, flaws and all.  Continue reading →