THE GIANT BEHEMOTH - Edwin Astley - "Behold Now The Behemoth" (1959)

The original title of this film is "Behemoth The Sea Monster," but I never heard that title before tonight, so I'm just going to call it what we have always known it as, "The Giant Behemoth!" This movie was directed by the English Mr. BIG, and small time genius Eugène Lourié, whose other giant credits include "Gorgo" and "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms."

A number of 50's horror films started off with nuclear explosions causing some kind of unnatural catastrophe, so is it any wonder that 60's kids would later revolt against the system, become hippies and end up wanting peace, love, and understanding? They were raised with nuclear disaster and it's biggest and scariest consequences, and then sold George Jetson as the future! Tune in, turn on, drop out, doesn't take a lot of thought now, does it?

It got so bad, they didn't even have a problem with a kid getting killed by the beast! This devil has no soul!!

The music for "The Giant Behemoth" was composed by Edwin Astley, who also composed the music for such movies as "Devil Girl From Mars", "Womaneater", and the totally unrelated comedy from 1961, "A Matter Of WHO", which I think is especially ironic since he was the father-in-law of The WHO's Pete Townsend!!!!!

Personally, this theme is like many others, pompous and overbearingly orchestrated, but is saved by a couple of dramatic flair ups, and some over the top and deliberately kitsch narration at the start!! "And the Lord said, behold now the Behemoth!!" Here they might look at first like they are dancing but actually, a really extra bad case of bad breath is taking it's toll!

The superior skills of special effects masters Willis O'Brien and Jack Rabin get a lot of credit for the cool look of this monster!!

Just like on "Highway 61", "if you see me coming, you better run!"

It must have been Eugène Lourié's idea to have a nuclear weenie roast as a means of ridding the world of the monster!

X1 was in mothballs and X3 through X7 were headed for the arctic, and they never did find out what happened to X13, so they had to break out old X2 which had seen better days!!! Have no fear, despite the odds, the world was saved once again!!!

CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN / Columbia Pictures - 1955 / Music by Mischa Bakaleinikoff

The Dungeon love Mischa Bakaleinikoff! Here just a few flick he work on, sometime composer, sometime conductor, start in 1929!.. VOODOO TIGER, IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA, JAIL BAIT, THE WEREWOLF, EARTH vs THE FLYING SAUCERS, 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH, SCREAMING MIMI, HAVE ROCKET, WILL TRAVEL, STOP! LOOK! and LAUGH! Want to know more about Mischa, maybe not ask daughter Annie!

Tonight, he conductor of lame theme, then, some good sounds at bar! And, end with funny line! Listen to... Creature With Atom-Power Brain!

Oh boy! Here we go 'gin!.. Guy wearing radio-active bee keeping suit!! This time he making strong dead guys and putting cool atom-power TV camera in brain!!.... Wow!! Tabonga would like TV camera in brain too!!

Richard Denning playing big fat show-off again. He smartest dude on police force of course! Oh yeah, dummie on left is Richard bro!

You never know when evil bad guy spying on you, just like Dick Cheney!!

But, good guy have authentic... TA DA!.. RADAR FORD!! Sorry, pic is dark, but that is real RADAR FORD!! PHANTOM FROM SPACE 'nother fick that feature RADAR FORD!

AGAIN?!!....

Kill 'em!!.. Stomp 'em!!.. Crush 'em!!.. Bad guy start big fight with Army!!

In wrassling, call it 'free for all!'

Try bullets!!

Oops, bullet not stop this Atom Brain, only bad guy machine in lab can!

Okay, so Richard brother got turned into Atom Brain too, but he turn on bad guy and crash through window of lab to get him!

Bro remember he hate bad guy!!.. Hate 'em real bad!!!

So, he blow up lab and is real hero! Whoa, Richard almost get toasted there!

THE END

SANGRE DE VIRGENES (Il Sangue Delle Vergini)(Blood Of The Virgins) - Victor Buchino - "Red Horror In The Clubs" (1967)

Wow! This is one movie that was really off my radar. You can thank Tabonga and his keen sense of bad taste to sniff out something like "Il Sangue Delle Vergini" or whatever you want to call it! This 1967 Argentinian soft-core vampire flick is unstable and very weird, even by our meager standards, but the music by the very talented Victor Buchino is above reproach! Victor and his Orchestra have a long list of cinematic credits and worked with various Tango artistes like Susy Leiva on the single "La Cancion De Buenos Aires" and Edmundo Rivero who was also known as "El Feo!" Victor had an uncanny feel for jazz/lounge/pop too, and we'll probably sneak in the music from his 1971 effort, "La Venganza Del Sexo" or "The Curious Dr. Humpp" before this is over, even though it's out of our range, because the music was so damn good!

So here we're treated to a full-fledged scary opening with thunder and creaking shutters, and then about 6 minutes into the film, the swinging cast takes off on what seems like an endless cross country musical orgy.

Most of the cuts in the music aren't mine, as the scene changes rapidly from boat, to ski lodge, and one swingin' club to the next!

It's just a 1967 Argentine Psycho Freakout Rave Up, pure and simple!!! These people are party monsters no doubt!! The rest of the movie is full of them getting their bare breasts molested by the resident vampire along with other nefarious acts!

As our mentor Forrest J. Ackerman would say, "This film is quite titillating to be sure!!"

Uh-Oh!!! Busted!!! You're in the deep stuff now Vampire Buddy!!!

MONOLITH MONSTERS / Universal - 1957 / Music by Gertz, Mancini + Stein

Again, we have another Universal movie making the Sunday Classics post! They seemed to have whatever it took to make a superior monster movie, but, basically, they had larger budgets. For example, the look of the spider in TARANTULA is totally superior to any other blue screen effects at the time, including that of Mr. BIG himself! The giant crystals in MONOLITH MONSTERS that grow and tumble to the ground, crushing everything in their way, are considered some of the very finest special effects in the history of film!!

When rocks from outer space hit the Earth, bad things can happen!!

Give a listen to the 'monsterous' intro and theme and reference to Bakersfield!.. And, again, the music by Irving Gertz, Henry Mancini and Herman Stein is uncredited.

UI always came up with great title cards, this copy is a little dark.

So, if you want some drama, bring in the child! Here's Linda Scheley in her only film role, as Ginny Simpson, the little girl who washes the rock and gets infected with a strange disease, where, she's starts turning into stone! Water activates the things.

Grant Williams had a strange career. He also did THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN and LEECH WOMAN for Universal, then, a few years later he's working for Al Adamson in the wacked-out BRAIN OF BLOOD (actually part of the Filipino 'Blood' series, go figure!!). That's Lola Albright, there, next to Grant. Grant's partner is already dead from turning into stone. The guy falls over and breaks apart!.. YOW!!

Frankly, the country Sheriff and Doctor are fairly baffled!..

...So, in the '50s, you put children in an iron lung when in doubt, something quite horrifying in itself!

Yeah! That's what I said, BIG ROCKS!

I actually saw this one at the theater when it came out! This part here is great.

They finally figure out that salt destroys the things, so, Grant wants to blow up the dam and wash a salt deposit into the path of the encroaching monstrocities! But, how do you sell logic to the people running the show?!

Here's the dam just before they blow it up. Thank God, logic prevails! Look at that matte painting back there!

Okay, now, to see if its gonna work!.. If not, Grant has to pay for the damages!!.. OUCH!

Weeeeell?!........

Oh, yeah, not to forget! Our pal Les Tremayne is in the movie, he plays the newspaper owner.

What do you know, it works!!! And, little Ginny pulls through just fine! Another happy ending...

THE BRAIN EATERS - Tom Jonson - "Puppet Masters" (1958)

It's Saturday night, and that means it's time for "The Brain Eaters!"

There's no turnin' back til we get to the end!!

Once again I'm going to quote from the original 1964 "Dwrayger Dungeon's 25 Worst Movies" article, "# 7 "The Brain Eaters" was also a dud. The story was about little animals who ran amok getting on the backs of everyone; but not the hero. While destroying the pipe cleaner antannaed nut brain eaters, the hero killed himself. Everyone proclaimed a new hero, the dead mayor's son, who never did nothing throughout the whole ignorant movie."

I just watched this movie again, and I stand with the original review. Here we have the hero Ed Nelson, sporting the classic wifebeater hospital outfit!

Lenoard Nimoy or Nemoy as he is called here plays the weird old space hippie dude in the smoke filled chamber long before they had hippies, more of a Jesus complex I guess!

Sweet '57 white T-Bird!

The Mayor's son's wife, hot rod girl Jody Fair lets one rip!!

To be fair, in retrospect, this is a very trippy little film. Veteran actor turned director, Bruno VeSota's work on such films as "Dementia" gave him a keen insight into the weird side of movie making and Dungeon hero Ed Nelson's talent runs rampant throughout the whole affair!

Get this!! The Mayor's screctary Alice portrayed by Joanna Lee, was a writer for such sitcoms as "Gilligan's Island" and "Gidget!" Not too funny here as she shoots and kills hero doctor lover Ed Nelson!!! I totally lost respect for her for letting those little space beggars take charge of her overly endowed brain!

Much cooler title card from the video release!!