TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES CHANNEL VIDEO FEATURETTE: Drive-In Double Features! Thursday Nights in June 2011
Drive-In Double Features - Thursdays in June
It came from the drive-in! The al fresco movie theater, a rage of the 1950s and '60s, spawned a new type of film -- the creature feature aimed at Atomic Age teenagers. These youngsters found their own parked car a perfect place to fall into each other's arms while being scared silly by B-movie monsters, often representing the anxieties of the age, such as threats of nuclear war or science fun amok. What could be more nostalgic, or more fun, than reliving those warm summer nights of dreamy dates and dread-inducing double features?
TCM presents a summertime festival spotlighting some of the most sensational monsters to have graced those drive-in movie screens that once dotted the American landscape. No less than 15 of the films are TCM premieres, including four examples of the Golden Age of Japanese movie monsters. Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956) is the Americanized version of the 1954 Japanese film Gijira, introducing the giant monster to U.S. audiences with re-dubbing and inserted scenes featuring Raymond Burr as a reporter who helps fight the menace. Also screening: Rodan (1957), Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster (1965) and Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1970).
Other campy creatures making their TCM debuts include Tarantula (1955), a spider that grows to the size of large buildings; The Cyclops (1957), a one-eyed terror who's 25 feet tall; The Giant Behemoth (1959), a once-dormant dinosaur that rises from a polluted ocean emitting deadly radiation; and The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955), another radioactive monster from the deep.
On the distaff side, we have Susan Cabot as The Wasp Woman (1959); Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), starring Allison Hayes; and Queen of Outer Space (1958) which includes the great Zsa Zsa Gabor!
Airing Thursday, June 23, 2011:
8:00 PM It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955)Breathtaking special effects highlight this sci-fi thriller. Huge octopus emerges from Pacific Ocean and wreaks havoc on San Francisco. First film made by the team of Ray Harryhausen and producer Charles H. Schneer.
Dir: Robert Gordon Cast: Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, Donald Curtis, Ian Keith, Harry Lauter.
9:30 PM The Monster that Challenged the World (1957)
Above-average giant-bug-on-the- loose film is set in the Salton Sea, where colossal mollusks (like big caterpillars in snail shells) menace locals. Intelligent, low-key, with good monsters.
Dir: Arnold Laven Cast: Tim Holt, Audrey Dalton, Hans Conried, Casey Adams.
11:00 PM The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Prehistoric rhedosaurus wreaks havoc when thawed after an atom-bomb blast. Good Ray Harryhausen special effects, especially in amusement park finale. Suggested by the Ray Bradbury short story "The Fog Horn."
Dir: Eugène Lourié Cast: Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef, Ross Elliott.
12:30 AM The Giant Behemoth (1959)
Enormous radioactive dinosaur menaces England, finally invades London. Animation effects directed by Willis O'Brien are fine, but film is turgid.
Dir: Eugène Lourié Cast: Gene Evans, Andre Morell, John Turner, Leigh Madison, Jack MacGowran.
2:00 AM The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues (1955)
Oceanographer Taylor investigates deaths caused by a monster created by radiation from an undersea rock, which is now guarded by the creature. Lots of spy stuff and a lousy monster fail to enliven this deadly dull early American-International effort.
Dir: Earl Harper Cast: Kent Taylor, Kathy Downs, Michael Whalen, Rodney Bell, Phillip Pine, Vivi Janiss, Helene Stanton.
3:30 AM Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961)
A killer blames a legendary sea monster for his deeds and is surprised when the real beast shows up.
Dir: Roger Corman Cast: Antony Carbone, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Edward Wain.
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