{"id":24528,"date":"2022-03-26T23:34:04","date_gmt":"2022-03-27T06:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=24528"},"modified":"2022-03-26T23:34:04","modified_gmt":"2022-03-27T06:34:04","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-dvd-review-drive-in-retro-classics-science-fiction-triple-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=24528","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! DVD Review: DRIVE-IN RETRO CLASSICS: SCIENCE-FICTION TRIPLE FEATURE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This DVD from Corinth Films will be available for\npurchase on March 29th<\/sup>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you enjoy B-movies, then you\u2019re probably well aware of\nthe many wild, exciting (and, at times, unintentionally amusing) independent science-fiction\nand monster movies from the 1950s and 1960s. While arthouse distributor Corinth\nFilms typically releases pictures from the likes Federico Fellini and Vittorio\nDe Sica, they also appear to appreciate genre flicks. That\u2019s why they have\nstarted a new DVD line called Drive-In Retro Classics<\/em>, presenting some enjoyably\ncheesy fare from the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their inaugural release includes the original theatrical\nversions of three titles together on one disc\u2026 all cleaned up and looking better\nthan ever. This collection includes Rocketship X-M<\/em> (1950), The Brain\nfrom Planet Arous<\/em> (1957) and The Hideous Sun Demon<\/em> (1958). While there\naren\u2019t any bonuses included on the DVD and the source material has its imperfections\n(like the movies themselves), the picture on all three titles is improved and set\nitself delivers a lot of fun entertainment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rocketship X-M<\/em> is perhaps the most serious and accomplished movies included on this set. Remarkably, it is also the first outer space adventure film to be made post World War II. The story involves a flight engineer (Noah Beeny), chemist (Osa Massen), physicist (John Emery), astronomer (Hugh O\u2019Brian)) and pilot (Lloyd Bridges) who set out on the first voyage to the moon. After blasting off, they encounter a meteor shower and are knocked off-course. The gang end up landing on Mars and learn something shocking about the history of the red planet. But will they be able to navigate a way home in order to report their incredible discovery?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie does its best to try and create a sense of authenticity,\nfocusing on the science behind the rocket and the methods in which the group attempt\nto accomplish their goal. It\u2019s all complete nonsense and doesn\u2019t hold up to any\nkind of scrutiny, but the cast still do their best to convincingly dramatize the\nquestionable physics behind how they will reach their destination. Of course,\nthere is plenty of silliness on display, including some chuckles in regards to\ntheir lack of space suits. The astronauts are clad in regular duds, including\nleather jackets! It turns out to be a good call, as they soon learn that Mars\nhas a dusty but Earth-like atmosphere. Like most movies of its era, there is\nalso some bickering and banter between the brash pilot and female chemist. His\nout-of-date comments and views ultimately lead to romance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they arrive on Mars, scenes on the planet have a\nreddish tint (which must have been quite striking back in the day). And for\nthose who appreciate hearing the sounds of a theremin in their science-fiction\nmovies, this title marks the film score to feature the instrument.  Plenty of outrageous events follow after the\ncrew makes their arrival. But the general concept is interesting and, as\ncomplications arise late in the film, the story takes an unexpected turn. This decision\nactually adds a bit of poignancy to the proceedings and makes it more memorable\nthan one might have initially expected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Brain from Planet Arous<\/em> is an absolute hoot and\none that will please any fan of cheesy B-movies. This film involves Steve Marsh\n(John Agar), a nuclear scientist who decides to investigate high radiation levels\nat nearby Mystery Mountain. When he and fellow lab worker Dan (Robert Fuller)\nfollow the signal into a cave, they encounter a giant and very sinister\nfloating brain. It announces itself as Gor and takes possession of Steve, intending\nto use his personal connections to get close to government officials and eventually\ntake over the world. It\u2019s a solid enough plan, but Gor finds himself unexpectedly\ndistracted by Steve\u2019s fianc\u00e9e, Sally (Joyce Meadows), whom he wants to make\ntime with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie is every bit as silly and over-the-top as it\nsounds, with Steve consistently grasping his head and wailing as he tries to\nfight off Gor\u2019s nasty influence. It\u2019s also hilarious to see the main character\u2019s\nbizarre and inappropriate behavior shrugged off by those around as the general quirks\nof being a scientist. There\u2019s also a wonderfully strange plot element\nintroduced when another alien brain named Vol arrives. He explains to Sally and\nher father (Thomas Browne Henry) that he has been hunting Gor down as a criminal,\nthen asks the pair to help him get close to the villain by possessing Sally\u2019s\ndog. The movie is an absurd delight and a wild ride from beginning to end. And,\nof all three movies included on the disc, this one has the cleanest and more\nstriking picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third feature on the disc is The Hideous Sun Demon<\/em>,\nanother enjoyably bonkers monster movie. This film teaches us not to drink on\nthe job, especially while doing research on radioactive isotopes. Dr. Gilbert\nMcKenna (Robert Clarke), who has a reputation for boozing it up, learns this\nlesson the hard way when he awakens in a hospital after accidentally dropping equipment\nand exposing himself to radiation. Gil initially seems fine, but it soon\nbecomes evident that when the sun\u2019s rays hit him, he reverts and transforms\ninto a violent, prehistoric reptile figure. Returning to normal at night, the\nscientist goes on the run, gets involved with a mobster\u2019s moll and ends up in\neven more trouble as the police pursue him. As Gil\u2019s transformations extend\nlonger and longer, he causes more danger to the public and himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This title features memorable, if rubbery, monster make-up and\nplenty of amusing scenes of Gil running around and terrorizing the public. In\nbetween bits where he turns into the title creature, sequences involving the\nlead drowning his sorrows at a bar are a lot of fun. This includes him romancing\na piano player\/singer (Nan Peterson) with an unusual performing style. There\u2019s\nplenty of action in the feature as well as a memorable climax which suggests\nthat one should never ask a child for assistance when running from the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all, this disc is a blast. While far from perfect, it features\nmuch improved picture quality on the features. And the three titles themselves\nare engaging and entertaining to watch. Drive-In Retro Classics: Science Fiction\nTriple Feature<\/em> comes heartily recommended and this reviewer can\u2019t wait to\ncheck out the next collection of enjoyably and sometimes inadvertently charming\ngenre B-pictures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This DVD from Corinth Films will be available for purchase on March 29th. If you enjoy B-movies, then you\u2019re probably well aware of the many wild, exciting (and, at times, unintentionally amusing) independent science-fiction and monster movies from the 1950s and 1960s. While arthouse distributor Corinth Films typically releases pictures from the likes Federico Fellini […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[80,86,87,2124,2923,3403,4794,6300,6301,6382,12553,13289,14197,17248,17777,20162,20963],"class_list":["post-24528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-80","tag-86","tag-87","tag-b-movie","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-brain","tag-corinth-films","tag-drive-in-retro-classics","tag-drive-in-retro-classics-science-fiction-triple-feature","tag-dvd","tag-lloyd-bridges","tag-mars","tag-monster-movie","tag-rocketship-x-m","tag-science-fiction-triple-feature","tag-the-brain-from-planet-arous","tag-the-hideous-sun-demon"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24528\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}