Movie Oldies that are Goodies

Featuring Ray Milland and Sam Elliott, Frogs is a film that follows a family celebrating a birthday at an isolated estate. Maybe they played their music a bit too loudly or someone spilled bourbon on the grass, but the local fauna take offense and decide to express their ire toward the irritating humans among them. This was a film one would see at a drive-in, for those of us who remember what those were.

Straight up, this movie is not what anyone would consider 'fine art'. Featuring William Shatner (yes, -that- William Shatner), this film centers around an invasion of a small Arizona community by a horde of tarantulas. Not gigantized, humongous, radiation-enhanced spiders, but what they lack in size they make up for in numbers and pure enthusiasm. A must-see for people who enjoy those movies that are 'so bad, they're good'.

Excavation for a new subway in London reveals a mysterious artifact. Reknown scientist Bernard Quatermass (Andrew Keir) is called in to assist in the investigation and identification of what some fear to be a unexploded bomb. Of course, it is something completely different but could be equally earth-shattering, if not more so. Released in the US as FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH, I still find this film entertaining despite its age.

Gor, a disembodied brain from, you guessed it, Planet Arous, possesses a hard-working American scientist Steve Marsh (John Agar). The brain has nefarious plans for planet Earth, but another brain, Val, from that same Planet Arous, arrives to thwart Gor's machinations. Also features a very young Robert Fuller, known for such shows as Laramie, Wagon Train, and Emergency!

As if one trip down Revenge Road with the macabre doctor Anton Phibes (Vincent Price) wasn't enough, Doctor Phibes Rises Again centers around the titular character's return from suspended animation and his quest for the restoration of his beloved wife, Victoria. The bumbling police return along with the spiffy clockwork band and the mysterious assistant, Vulnavia (don't ask me how). Phibes is racing the clock to find the key to immortality, but so is the renown Egyptologist, Darius Biederbeck (Robert Quarry). Who will win the prize and what will happen to the one left out of the winner's circle?

A world renown organist (and doctor, and biblical scholar, and scientist), Dr. Anton Phibes (Vincent Price) loses his wife, Victoria during surgery after an automobile accident. Supposedly killed in the same accident, Dr. Phibes seeks revenge on the surgical team he holds responsible for his wife's demise. Yes, revenge is a frequent theme in Vincent Price movies, and in this instance I found his route down Revenge Road to be creative and rather fun to watch. I don't ask any questions about his assistant, Vulnavia (Virginia North), because none of them are ever answered.

This is the story of a boy, Vic (Don Johnson) and his dog Blood (Tiger), as they wander the post-apocalyptic wasteland (Kansas). A random encounter with a girl (well, not really) draws Vic into a subterranean society populated by the silliest-looking people once could imagine short of a clown school. Led by Lou Cradock (Jason Robards), the remnants of beloved Topeka have dark designs for Vic. Based on a story and with a screenplay written by the late, great Harlan Ellison, the film might be a bit silly from time to time but is still entertaining. As usual, the literary work is better (especially the ending), but the flavor it it is still there in the film.

Before Skynet, there was Colossus. With typical military wisdom, the US Government turns control of its nuclear arsenal over to an artificial intelligence named Colossus (or course the lead scientist says it is incapable of actual thought), which is built inside the heart of a mountain which makes it impervious to human intervention. What could possibly go wrong? Especially when the AI learns it isn't the only new kid on the block.

Another Roddenberry pilot, the film focuses on William Sebastian (Robert Culp). He is a well-known, infamous investigator of criminal arts and occult mysteries. Both he and his erstwhile companion, Dr. Hamilton (Gig Young) are called upon to probe mysterious doings at an estate outside of London. A supernatural game of cat-and-mouse is afoot and Sebastian is desperate to play. Also features Majel Barrett and John Hurt. By and large an entertaining film, it does lose a little traction toward the end. Don't let the rubber suit bring down the rest of the enjoyment. Warning: there is a bit of content not suited for children.

Another Roddenberry pilot, this version of Dylan Hunt (Alex Cord) wakes up after an extended nap in suspended animation (Late 1970's to 2133) to find himself in a post-apocalyptic world minus the ruins and fallout. He is discovered and revived by an organization called Pax, who live underground and enjoy the benefits of modern/future science. Above ground, things aren't quite as rosy. As one would expect, he starts to nose around no-so-rosy-land and quickly learns that he might have been better off in his suspended animation chamber. The film also features Mariette Hartley, Majel Barrett, and Tim Cassidy. Planet Earth, another Roddenberry project, came out a year later with a rather similar premise. Still, this isn't a bad film, despite the questions that might occur to the viewer.

It's Jason (Todd Armstrong) and his Argonauts on a quest to find the Golden Fleece. Chock full of marvelous stop-motion animation courtesy of Ray Harryhausen, this wonderful film is distilled fun as well as scenes of men who act like men and women who don't complain about being saved by men. Shocking in this day and age, it is well worth a watch, if not multiple watches.

Edward Lionheart (Vincent Price) is a Shakespearean actor who suffers a plethora of less-than-positive reviews. Feeling very much unappreciated, he embarks on a roller coaster ride of poetic revenge against the critics with the aid of his daughter, Edwina (Diana Rigg).

Dylan Hunt (John Saxon) awakens from suspended animation in the 22nd century. As part of a future away team of the organization known as Pax, he is sent to a part of the world where women rule and men are slaves called Dinks. He is (of course) captured and subjected to the life of a Dink. Not the best of the Roddenberry pilots, but being made for TV, one can't expect an epic tale. Features appearances by John Saxon, Ted Cassidy (aka Lurch from the Adams Family), Diana Muldaur, and Majel Barrett.

Project Questor: A project focused on creating the first functional android. Jerry Robinson (Mike Farrell) is Chief Engineer on the project. The project's founder, Dr. Vaslovik, disappeared during the project's development and his programming tapes were corrupted during a copy attempt. Unable to activate the humanoid with a replacement program, the team uses the damaged tapes. The android activates itself (when no one is watching) and escapes the lab in search of its creator.

Dr. Cal Meacham (Rex Reason), a nuclear engineer, is recruited by Exeter (Jeff Morrow) the leader of a mysterious group to assist them in atomic research. While I thought the expanded foreheads and white hair of Exeter and his assistant would give this guy a clue, apparently he ignores these unusual features in pursuit of scientific knowledge. Things are a little too happy in Happy Valley, so he eventually decides to nose around a bit and discovers that something indeed is up in the Den of Mark. Noteworthy appearance by Russell Johnson (The Professor of Gilligan's Island).

Renowned author R. Chetwynd Hayes (John Carradine) is approached by a mysterious, half-starved stranger named Aramis (Vincent Price). After Hayes makes an involuntary blood donation near a dark alleyway, Aramis reveals that he is a both a fan of the author's work and a vampire. To compensate him for his blood loss, Aramis invites Hayes to an exclusive club where he shares tales of his fellow monsters.

When is a rock not just a rock? A meteor crashes to Earth, shattering into fragments. A sample taken into a small town displays intriguing properties. Those properties evolve into dangerous and then catastrophic phenomena, threatening the town and potentially the entire country.

A deputy sheriff stops motorists on a mountain highway after receiving reports of a possible nuclear attack. Not a high-budget film, but an entertaining example of people at the pre-dawn of doomsday.

Five people from around the world are given the means to eliminate humanity. Featuring Jonathan Clark (Gene Barry), the story follows the five characters through the twenty-seven days they are given to utilize what they have been given.

A research scientist (Robert Lansing) 'borrows' a breakthrough technique discovered by his brother (James Congdon) that allows an object to pass through other objects. Lansing's character gains the ability but quickly learns that he must drain the life force from others to maintain his own.

The Last Man on Earth features Vincent Price as a scientist who is amazingly immune (don't laugh when you find out how) to a disease which turns the rest of humanity into something other than human who crave blood. Based on Richard Matheson's book, I am Legend, Dr. Robert Morgan (Price) is forced into becoming a vampire hunter, making stakes by night and using them by day. Solitude erodes his sanity as the film progresses, making one wonder how long he will be able to continue the pursuit of his cause.