A scientist’s discovery of using radiation to cause invisibility is used by an unscrupulous military man to create an army of invisible men. But he needs more radioactive material, and “recruits” an untrustworthy convict … to become the amazing transparent man!
Return of the Swamp Thing begins with Abigail Arcane (Heather Locklear) traveling to the Florida swamps to find out the truth about her mother’s death. Once there, she confronts her evil stepfather Dr. Arcane (Louis Jourdan), who had been resurrected after his death in the first film. In an attempt to stave off the effects of aging, Dr. Arcane, assisted by Dr. Lana Zurrell (Sarah Douglas), combines genes from various swamp animals and human beings, creating an army of monsters known as Un-Men. Dr. Arcane tries to use his stepdaughter Abby in his genetic experiments until she is rescued by Swamp Thing (Dick Durock). He’s a scientist previously transformed into a humanoid plant creature after a confrontation with the doctor. Abby and the Swamp Thing fall in love, with the doctor’s minions searching for them.
In Ghost of Frankenstein, the ghost isn’t literal, but psychological. Another son of Victor Frankenstein, brain surgeon Ludwig (played well by Cedric Hardwicke), who is manipulated by Ygor (wonderfully done by Bela Lugosi) who also manipulates Ludwig’s former mentor and current assistant, Dr. Bohmer (Lionel Atwill) as well as the childlike Frankenstein’s monster (portrayed here by Lon Chaney Jr.)
Swamp Thing Deep in Floridas Everglades a brilliant scientist has developed a secret formula that could end world hunger. However, someone is plotting to steal the serum for his own selfish desires. Looting the lab and kidnapping a sexy government agent, the madman douses the scientist with the secret chemicals and leaves him for dead in the swamp. Mutated by his own formula, the scientist is transformed into a half human/half plant hybrid who will is determined to rescue the woman and defeat the villain.
Die, Monster, Die (1965) starring Nick Adams, Suzan Farmer, Boris Karloff, Freda Jackson The title, Die, Monster, Die is very misleading and the movie is much better than the title, or the movie poster would lead…
In The Leech Woman, Dr. Paul Talbot (Philip Terry) is searching for the perfect formula to make women look younger, when an elderly woman named Malla (Estelle Hemsley) comes claiming to be 140 years old. She also claims to know the secret to reverse aging, but the ingredients are in Africa. Paul is ready to throw the old woman out until she says that other doctors would test the powder before calling her a fraud.
Roger Corman’s X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, is a different science fiction/horror movie, in several ways. It has the well-worn theme of a scientist delving too deeply into things that man wasn’t meant to know.
If there’s a problem with the 1941 version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of a man split between his dark and light sides, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it unfortunately comes down to the lead actor, Spencer Tracy. It’s undeniable that Spencer Tracy is a fine actor but not in this film. He portrays Dr. Henry Jekyll as nearly neutral and spineless, and he plays Mr. Hyde not as a wild, unhindered, lover of self, but as a slightly more menacing version of Dr. Jekyll. When he starts a bar fight he doesn’t participate. When he abuses the lovely singer Ivy (Ingrid Bergman) its barely what most people would consider anger.
Often typecast as a menacing figure, Peter Lorre achieved Hollywood fame first as a featured player and later as a character actor, trademarking his screen performances with a delicately strung balance between good and evil. His portrayal of the child murderer in Fritz Langs masterpiece M (1931) catapulted him to international fame. Lang said of Lorre: He gave one of the best performances in film history and certainly the best in his life. Today, the Hungarian-born actor is also recognized for his riveting performances in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Casablanca (1942). Lorre arrived in America in 1934 expecting to shed his screen image as a villain. He even tried to lose his signature accent, but Hollywood repeatedly cast him as an outsider who hinted at things better left unknown.
Brilliantly dramatic documentary a wealth of rare footage will make you feel as if you lived with Lugosi through his triumphs and tragedies. Greg Mank, author of It’s Alive and Karloff and Lugosi.
