Mars Needs Women (1968)

A rather bizarre science-fiction film, about the Martian need for Earth women...

Mars is dying due to reasons, the Martian Dop (Tommy Kirk) leads a team to Earth to find some suitable fertile females for breeding purposes. Dop announces this plan to the US military beforehand for some reason. Dop and his team begin selecting suitable females. Pole dancers and flight attendants seem to be the preferred choice (natch). 

However, Dop selects the female scientist Dr Bolen (Yvonne Craig) for his target and falls in love with her. The authorities are meanwhile searching high and low for the Martians...

This is a pretty awful film to be honest. The overall premise is sound perhaps though crudely implemented and overall the film is pretty sleazy and cheap. The story makes little sense of course and often is (unintentionally) hilarious.

Journey to the Center of Time (1967)

Low budget and fairly low quality time travel science fiction fare, some of the ideas are quite interesting though.

Dr Gordon (Abraham Sofaer), Mark (Anthony Eisley) and Karen (Gigi Perreau) are working on a science project to see into the past. Unfortunately they can only see 24 hours into the past. Their backer Stanton (Scott Brady) tells them they need to show some better results or he is pulling the funding. During a last gasp experiment various things go bang and they can see into the far future. In fact they can't just see the future... they are there.

After a short period where they get involved in a short battle between future human barbarians and light blue skinned aliens, they are sent into the far past and get menaced by rather dodgy looking dinosaurs (even though they've only gone back 1 million years)...

This film is nonsense and takes place mostly on one set padded out with a lot of stock footage. The lab does have the necessary amount of dials and flashing lights so you know that SCIENCE is taking place! Various weird events take place and are explained using large amounts of scientific mumbo jumbo, thus this film can be seen as the forerunner of many awful Star Trek episodes. The film isn't very good but is entertaining enough to be able to hold your interest.

First Spaceship on Venus (1960)

An East German science-fiction epic and it is equal parts amazing and weird.

An artefact from a meteorite strike is found to have come from Venus and contains a message. An international team of astronauts is sent off to Venus to discover what happened to the apparently advanced civilisation on the planet. Their mission soon runs into many hazards in outer space. When they reach Venus they discover the civilisation is in ruins, having destroyed themselves somehow while preparing to attack Earth. However, a super weapon is still aimed at Earth...

Although dubbed into English, this film stands out from other films of the period and genre with it's inventive set design and the thoughtful weighty plot. This isn't a space opera with all American heroes, in fact the film has a rather refreshing international feel about it. The film is pretty odd though, a lot of that is probably due to how the film was edited to fit the English dialogue. 

Cyborg 2087 (1966)

It is the future and mankind is under the control of deranged technology. A cyborg is sent back to the present day to prevent the invention of this technology and change the future. No, this isn't Terminator!

Garth A7 (Michael Rennie) is sent back to groovy 1960s Earth to prevent Professor Marx (Eduard Franz) from developing a mind to mind communication system which in the future is used to enslave humanity. Unfortunately he only has a short time period to do it before sentinels from the future are sent to capture him. He enlists the help of Marx's assistant Dr Mason (Karen Steele) and her friend Dr Zellar (Warren Stevens) but the sentinels with their zap guns are already on the case...

A low-budget science-fiction film that makes the clever decision, budget wise, to base most of it's action on present day non-SF film sets and locations. Although the film's plot does plod a little at times, and can be a little cheesy, this is not a bad film at all. The idea behind the film is very good, no wonder it was later used again.

Beyond the Time Barrier (1960)

A 1960s astronaut is sent into the far future... 2024 to be exact.

Allison (Robert Clarke) is testing the X-80, a new research craft. However, when he lands at his airbase he finds it derelict and everyone has vanished. He is soon captured by a strange group of people in matching outfits. Allison discovers that he is not in 1960 anymore, somehow he has been sent to 2024. 

The land has been devastated by cosmic rays and the remains of mankind live underground in rival factions. Allison is captured by one faction who are powerful but the radiation has made them largely sterile. Allison wants to return home though The Supreme (Vladimir Sokoloff) has other plans for him, he wants Allison to mate with his daughter Trirene (Darlene Tompkins)...

A slightly strange but enjoyable film. The budget is low but well used. The plot is a little more meaty than other examples of the genre. Of course their idea of the 2020s hasn't quite matched reality though the triangular doors really would be wonderful.

The Dead One (1961)

One of the earliest zombie movies in colour, quite terrible though reasonably interesting.

John (John McKay) and his new bride Linda (Linda Ormond) head up to the house in Louisiana which John has inherited. His cousin Monica (Monica Davis) already lives there and isn't that happy about John's arrival. She is into the voodoo cult which John dismisses as superstition in his typical bossy 1960s male way. 

At night Monica summons her recently deceased brother Jonas (Clyde Kelly) from the grave as a zombie (in a tuxedo). She sends him to kill Linda though he gets confused and kills a woman who was also staying in the house (Darlene Myrick) instead. John is still dismissive though soon realises the voodoo power is real...

A short movie though takes such an incredible amount of time to get going that it feels much longer. Not a terribly exciting story though an interesting example of a US indie film. One of the first two zombie films in colour, the other being Dr Blood's Coffin.

Atom Age Vampire (1960)

A rather squalid and awful little film.

Jeanette (Susanne Lorette) is an exotic dancer who is facially disfigured after a car accident. She is approached by Professor Levin (Alberto Lupo) and his assistant Monique (Franca Parisi) who have developed a ground breaking method to heal skin in their dingy little lab full of rabbits in cages and radiation. The method works but Jeanette, whom Levin has become obsessed with, requires regular treatments. Those treatments need the glands from murdered women. Levin commits these murders after he, for some reason, transforms into a weird looking beast...

A film that makes no sense, scenes end abruptly even mid dialogue and everything about the film is rather shoddy. The film is quite entertaining but mostly because of it's awfulness. 

Don't really expect any vampires, the confusing title is referred to in the English dubbed dialogue. The Italian title translates to Seddok the heir of Satan, which makes slightly more sense.

Fate is the Hunter (1964)

A film with surprising depth and heart.

An airliner crashes shortly after take-off with a near complete loss of life. With no technical reason for the crash detected, suspicion falls on the pilot Jack Savage (Rod Taylor) who had a bit of a reputation and was spotted in bars the night before. 

His old war buddy Sam (Glenn Ford) is investigating the crash and doesn't believe Jack was to blame, as he unravels Jack's complicated life, he discovers more and more surprising facts about his friend.

This is a film that surprises you, it starts with a tense air crash and then develops in unexpected ways, with wartime flashbacks helping to reveal more and more about Jack's life. A very well constructed story with superb performances and multi-dimensional characters.

Shadow of Treason (1963)

An interesting if sometimes pedestrian crime / spy drama.

Steve (John Bentley) is in Trieste looking for opportunities, he manages to save Tina (Anita West) from a gunman. She hires him as a bodyguard and begins to help her unravel the mystery of a letter and map left to her by her father with the promise of much loot at the end. 

However, others including Nadia (Faten Hamamah) and Mario (Ferdy Mayne) are also involved. Steve discovers that Tina's father was blackmailing a group of traitors. The trail leads them to Jugoslavia and finally Africa...

A modest film but nicely structured with some intelligently placed tension and decent performances all round. The film doesn't rush, sometimes though you wish it could have raised the pace a little now and then.

Assignment: Outer Space (1960)

Wobbly rockets in space in this rather odd space opera.

Ray (Rik Van Nutter) is a journalist who is blasting out into outer space to see what is going on out at the space station, his arrival does not please George (David Montresor), the space station commander who seems to be hiding something. We soon find out what, a space ship is returning to Earth out of control and, unless it can be stopped, will wipe out all life! To save Earth, Ray, George, Lucy (Gabriella Farinon) and the cool Al (Archie Savage) must head out in an apparent suicide mission in a desperate attempt to save everything...

The idea is good as is the ambition, though the budget and ability unfortunately falls pretty short. The space ships literally wobble on the end of strings and the film is full of oddness and many of the common 1950s/60s science fiction tropes including weird codenames for people. A fun film though.

The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

It is every teenage boy's fantasy but the reality is quite different...

Dr Xavier (Ray Millard) is working hard on a special new eyedrop which can help the eye see more of the electromagnetic spectrum. Despite misgivings from his colleagues Dr Fairfax (Diane van de Vlis) and Dr Brant (Harold Stone), he pushes on with his experiments and uses himself as a guinea pig! The results are tremendous, he can see inside a sick child and thus can save her life in surgery. However, with the plug pulled on his funding Xavier kills Stone by mistake...

He goes on the run and ends up using his super vision for coin at a low-rent seaside attraction run by the spiv Crane (Don Rickles). Reunited with Dr Fairfax, he heads to Las Vegas to use his powers to make a fortune however no one breaks the bank in Vegas without raising suspicion...

A highly enjoyable and well paced science fiction film, this is one of those rare films that a modern day remake could probably improve upon as the special effects are rather limited. Yes Dr Xavier does get to see a lot of women naked but he also sees a lot more, and it drives him insane in the end.

Ambush in Leopard Street (1962)

A limited though not unappealing British crime drama.

Ageing criminal Harry (Michael Brennan) plans one final blag, stealing diamonds on their way to a jewellery. However, he needs to find out when the gems are on the move. He uses his brother-in-law Johnny (James Kenney) for a honey trap, seducing the lonely secretary of the jewellers Jean (Jean Harvey). The plan is flawless but Harry hasn't counted on local hard man Big George (Charles Mitchell) wanting to scoop the loot for himself...

A low budget film though with an interesting story which uses that budget well. The cruelty and inhumanity (and humanity) of the world of crime are well explored through fairly three dimensional characters. It could have been better with a bit more money behind it and a lot more pace but it's not bad by any means. 

The Beatniks (1960)

Nice guy Eddie can't escape the Moon.

Eddie (Tony Travis) is part of a gang of loser punks including the ridiculous and somewhat unstable Mooney (Peter Breck) and Iris (Karen Kadler). When his singing is discovered by promoter Harry (Charles Delaney), Eddie is on a fast track to stardom. Unfortunately his gang hang onto him and drag him into their delinquent behaviour which includes murder...

A really low budget film, although called The Beatniks there arn't really any in this film though Mooney tries his best on the odd occasion to be hip in between periods of madness and scenery chewing. Eddie is such a nice guy, how he ended up leader of such a loathsome gang is the film's true mystery. 

Horrors of Spider Island (1960)

Rather low-rent horror with beautiful women on a tropical island... and spider men.

Gary (Alexander D'Arcy) and Georgia (Helga Franck) assemble a dance troupe of young women and takes them to Singapore... unfortunately their plane crashes in the Pacific. Joe and the survivors end up on a remote island. They discover that someone was living there but he is lying dead in a gigantic spider web!

A bizarre giant spider lives on the island. It attacks Joe who manages to kill it but it's venom turns him into a spider man. He then hunts the women... But then two guys turn up at the island and the women forget all about the spider threat until the end and the return of spider man for a final showdown...

A cheap horror romp, it doesn't make a lot of sense or have that much in the way of horror action though does show a lot of female flesh. Cheesy and vaguely exotic fun. The dubbing is sometimes hilariously bad.

Police Dog Story (1961)

A decent crime drama though as usual with these kinds of films homo sapiens is out acted by canis familiaris.

Rookie police man Edwards (James Brown) is selected for a new police dog handing department, unfortunately for him his dog is a rather boisterous Alsatian called Wolf. Despite early troubles Edwards and Wolf bond when man saves dog when he falls down a cliff. Edwards and Wolf become a formidable crime fighting duo. 

However, when Edwards gets mixed up with a crooked business owner and his old partner Bert (Barry Kelley), who is on the take, both Edwards' career and Wolf's life are in peril...

Apart from the addition of the dog, this is a fairly basic crime drama which is narrated by reporter Terry (Merry Anders), who is writing a feature on the new dog handling team and falls in love with Edwards. A decent if unexceptional film with rather dry dialogue and functional acting. Wolf is a good dog though for sure.

The Walking Target (1960)

A decent Noir-ish crime drama about an ex-con who is still after his money.

Nick (Ron Foster) comes out of prison after a five year stretch for armed robbery, however as the loot he stole was never recovered everyone is on Nick's tail. The press, the police and some gangsters who want the loot for themselves. Nick hooks up with his old flame Susan (Merry Anders), not knowing that she has already moved on but it keeping up appearances for the money.

Where is the money though? It seems he left it hidden in the car of his old partner's widow Gail (Joan Evans). He turns up to see Gail to get the money but can she persuade him to give it up and go straight for good?

Taut, tough and straight forward crime drama with some good performances. Not the most original storyline but very competent in all areas.

The Cape Town Affair (1967)

A bit slow but very stylish.

Skip (James Brolin) steals a woman's purse on the bus, unknown to him the woman is being tailed by the secret service. Candy (Jacqueline Bisset) is carrying stolen plans for the Communists. When the police (Gordon Mulholland) track down Skip he refuses to play ball (and for some reason they don't search him as he has the stolen plans on him all along!) Now Skip must stay one step ahead of the police, the Communist cell and Candy...

All set against a backdrop of late 1960s South Africa, Apartheid is never mentioned but can't be ignored especially as this is a film set in South Africa with no black characters. The pacing is glacial at times and the plot a bit dull but it does have some late 60s cool. I enjoyed the British made cars and buses too.

The Girl in Lovers Lane (1960)

A low-budget film from the tough streets of a small town in the US.

Danny (Lowell Brown) is a rich kid who has gone on the run, he gets turned over by some thugs in a rail yard but is saved from destitution by experienced drifter Bix (Brett Halsey). Bix takes Danny under his wing (the fact Danny has all the money is incidental of course!) They end up in a small town and Bix soon has to teach Danny some street smarts and how to deal with dangerous thugs and even more dangerous gals!

However, Bix falls in love with Carrie (Joyce Meadows) and starts to wonder if he should settle down and stop drifting. But the weird Jesse (Jack Elam) throws a tragic spanner in the works...

An enjoyable film, though the sleazy and brutal world of Bix and his drifting lifestyle could have done with a little bit more budget and at times the pace of the film could have done with a bit more juice. 

The Phantom Planet (1961)

Middling science-fiction thrills, nothing too original overall except for one thing...

It is the future (well 1980 anyway) and USAF spaceships are going missing, thrown off course by a mysterious force. Captain Chapman (Dean Fredericks) is sent to investigate, his ship is also seized by a force and his ship lands on an unknown planet. Chapman heads out in his spacesuit and sees tiny people, then he passes out and his suit is opened. When he breathes the air of this planet he is also shrunk! Luckily for the film's classification although the rest of his clothes remain normal size his underpants also shrink with him...

Chapman is captured by the people of this planet, he is told he cannot leave but can have his choice of two beautiful women (Coleen Grey and Dolores Faith) as a wife! That doesn't go down well with one of the girl's beau Herron (Anthony Dexter) who challenges Chapman to a deadly duel. When Chapman wins but spares Herron's life they become friends. Herron offers Chapman the chance to return home but first he must help them battle the brutal aliens Solarites who are attacking...

So fairly familiar stuff, the plot is mostly what you may have seen before in other films (and probably made better too). The shrinking of Chapman is an interesting twist with some decent effects. The film is not great but is perfectly reasonable.

Curse of the Fly (1965)

The third instalment in the Fly trilogy, don't actually expect any flies, do expect a surprisingly good film.

Martin (George Baker) is heading home when he spies a young woman running in her underwear. Naturally he stops to help her. He falls in love with Patricia (Carole Gray) and marries her after a quick romance, even though she is on the run from a psychiatric hospital!

Martin brings Patricia home to meet his father Henri (Brian Donlevy) who is conducting mysterious experiments involving teleportation, why Henri is the son of the man who became The Fly... 

There are no flies in this film but there are hideous mutants, the results of teleportation experiments gone wrong, and kept in the stables. Henri's servants Tai (Burt Kwouk) and Wan (Yvette Rees) are also rather odd, especially Wan who takes a dislike to Patricia and tries to drive her insane. Soon the poor girl is recoiling in terror from the dark secrets of her father-in-law's house...

This is a fine film, marred only by the low budget which is felt sometimes in the effects. The film has a real feeling of doom and menace and plenty of twists, including the final deadly one.