150 Movies You Should Die Before You See - Miller Steve [3]
They Really Said It!
Terl: Kill all man-animals!
Betcha Didn't Know
The film was intended to be the first of two, but plans for the sequel were scrapped following its poor performance.
Battlefield Earth was reported to have cost $73 million to make, but only grossed some $22 million at the U.S. box office. In truth, the film only cost $44 million, but production company Franchise Pictures inflated the budget in an attempt to defraud investors. They were successfully sued, ordered to pay $121 million in damages, and went bankrupt.
Trivia Quiz
What tagline was often used during the movie's promotion?
A: It's the Year 3000 and Humans Are the Endangered Species.
B: From the Mind of Sci-Fi Legend L. Ron Hubbard
C: Go for the Gold on Battlefield Earth!
D: Prepare to Go Psychlo
Answer: D. Prepare to Go Psychlo. (Other taglines for the film were “Prepare for Battle” and “Take Back the Planet.”)
BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (AKA “BRIDE OF THE ATOM”)
Rolling M. Productions, 1955
PRODUCER Edward D. Wood Jr.
WRITER Edward D. Wood Jr.
DIRECTOR Edward D. Wood Jr.
STARS Bela Lugosi (Dr. Eric Vornoff), Loretta King (Janet Lawton), Tor Johnson (Lobo), Tony McCoy (Lt. Dick Craig), Harvey B. Dunn (Capt. Tom Robbins), Paul Marco (Officer Kelton), and George Becwar (Prof. Vladimir Strowski)
A mad scientist (Lugosi) captures those who venture too close to his dilapidated house and subjects them to weird experiments intended to create a new race of radioactive supermen. When he captures a nosy female tabloid reporter (King), can it be long before his simpleminded assistant (Johnson) falls in love with her?
Why It Sucks
Ed Wood is sometimes characterized as the worst director who ever lived, and Bride of the Monster is the quintessential Ed Wood movie. It's full of strange characters badly acted, situations that are minimally explained, sets that are shoddily made … almost everything about it is supremely dreadful. The film reaches its nadir when Bela Lugosi is turned into an atomic monster via the use of platform shoes (yes, you read that correctly). (Tor Johnson looks sort of like Shrek, but Wood couldn't help that.)
Thumbs Down Rating:
The Crappies
The Weirdest Character Award goes to … The bird-loving police captain Harvey Dunn, who is more interested in discussing his pet exotic birds than the murders and missing-person cases.
And the Lamest Prop Award goes to … The atomic-monstermaking contraption in Dr. Vornoff's lab, key components of which are darkroom equipment and the metal salad bowl worn on the head of those subjected to Dr. Vornoff's evil experiments.
They Really Said It!
Janet: When did I tell you my name?
Dr. Vornoff: You didn't. But since you were unconscious, I took the liberty of looking into your purse.
Betcha Didn't Know
This was Edward D. Wood Jr.'s only financially successful film.
Wood Jr. vowed Bride of the Monster would return Bela Lugosi to the star status he had lost as a result of bad career choices and drug abuse. It was perhaps a blessing in disguise that Lugosi passed away less than a year after the film's release.
Trivia Quiz
In what movie did Bela Lugosi play God (literally)?
A: The Ten Commandments (1956)
B: His Girl Friday (1940)
C: Glen or Glenda? (1953)
D: The Devil Bat (1940)
Answer: C. GlenorGlenda? Bela Lu gosi appears as one of several narrators featured in one of the most jumbled and confusing movies ever made. His character is named “The Scientist” in the script, but the character is clearly intended to be God.
CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN
Clover Productions, 1955
PRODUCER Sam Katzman
WRITER Curt Siodmak
DIRECTOR Edward L. Cahn
STARS Richard Denning (Dr. Chet Walker), S. John Launer (Capt. Dave Harris), Gregory Gaye (Dr. Wilhelm Steigg), Michael Granger (Frank Buchanan), and Angela Stevens (Joyce Walker)
When police scientist Dr. Chet Walker (Denning) discovers that dead men are walking the streets of a California town,