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Arthur Franz,
Boris Karloff,
Marshall Thompson,
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Spencer Gordon Bennet,
Robert Day,
Spencer Gordon Bennet,
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: Criterion
: Classics, Science Fiction , Suspense/Thriller, Classic Sci-Fi, Criterion Collection, Foreign, Horror, Crime, UK
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The Atomic Submarine (Criterion Collection) (1959)
Seasoned serial director Spencer Gordon Bennett helmed this story of a one-eyed, octopoidal space alien, wreaking havoc upon atomic subs at the North Pole. The monster is determined to take over the world, though it seems ill equipped for that purpose. Heroes Arthur Franz, Dick Foran, and Brett Halsey head underwater to neutralize the alien's submerged flying saucer. The cast is peopled with such veterans as Tom Conway, Bob Steele, Victor Varconi, Selmer Jackson, and Jack Mulhall. Movie buffs may wish to take note of the exterior scenes in Atomic Submarine; several of them are played out in front of the easily recognizable studios of Allied Artists, formerly Monogram and later the home of LA's PBS channel 28. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Corridors of Blood (Criterion Collection) (1959)
This enjoyably twisted British thriller was shot back-to-back with the equally warped Haunted Strangler and is one of the first films of any genre to address the subject of drug addiction. It stars Boris Karloff as Dr. Thomas Bolton, a London surgeon who believes he has developed a safe and effective anesthetic serum which he hopes will revolutionize the world of medicine. Unfortunately, a demonstration of the drug before a panel of his peers ends in a horrific mishap -- with his patient awakening under the knife -- and he is forced to leave his position in disgrace. To complicate matters, Bolton has become addicted to his own concoctions and is forced to enter an illicit arrangement, forging death certificates for a pair of grave-robbers (including Christopher Lee) in exchange for a regular fix and the means to continue his experiments. As one would imagine, this shady partnership leads him further down the road to ruin, culminating in his unwitting participation in murder -- for which he becomes the victim of a blackmail scheme. Karloff's multi-layered performance is one of his finest, bringing a great deal of pathos to his tragic character. This film was also something of a turning point for Lee, who had already risen to international fame in many Hammer productions by the time this film was acquired by MGM for American distribution. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
First Man into Space (Criterion Collection) (1959)
Filmed not long after the launch of Russia's Sputnik satellite, First Man Into Space benefited from a surface realism made possible by enhanced public knowledge of space-travel jargon and paraphernalia. Dashing astronaut Lt. Dan Prescott (Bill Edwards) disappears from view when his experimental spacecraft vanishes in a mysterious cloud. The space capsule returns to earth, covered in a bizarre extraterrestrial coating. Shortly thereafter, a hulking, half-human creature raids a blood bank, killing the nurse on duty and gulping down the supplies. More bizarre, unexplained events occur before Prescott's older brother Cmdr. C.E. Prescott (Marshall Thompson) concludes that the monster is actually his missing brother, transformed by his experiences in space into a mutant, vampiric beast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Haunted Strangler (Criterion Collection) (1958)
There's a bit of Oedipus Rex in The Haunted Strangler, though it's not readily apparent at first. Boris Karloff plays 19th-century novelist James Rankin, who becomes obsessed with the long-closed case of the Haymarket Strangler. Twenty years earlier, a man named Styles (Michael Atkinson) was executed for the Strangler's crimes, but was he guilty? It turns out that the actual culprit was the surgeon who performed Styles' autopsy. Coming into possession of the surgeon's scalpel, Rankin is overwhelmed by mixed feelings of bloodlust and guilt. It is at this point that Rankin realizes that he is truly his own, and London's, worst enemy. Originally released in England as Grip of the Strangler, The Haunted Strangler was distributed by MGM in 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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| The Atomic Submarine (Criterion Collection) (1959) |
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| Corridors of Blood (Criterion Collection) (1959) |
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| First Man into Space (Criterion Collection) (1959) |
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| The Haunted Strangler (Criterion Collection) (1958) |
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