Wednesday, September 03, 2008

The Navy vs. the Night Monsters

9 comments:

Fred Blosser said...

Bill, this one has always flown below my radar but the trailer and IMDB credits suggest that I should look it up. Another dream B-movie cast -- Mamie, Anthony (Hawaiian Eye, Naked Kiss) Eisley, Billy Gray, Bobby Van, Walter Sande, Biff Elliott, (the) Sonny West -- screenplay based on a Murray Leinster novel (which was a Gold Medal original, I think).

According to Al Collins, Biff Elliott's entrance in the first scene of "I the Jury" caused wiseguys in the movie audience to exclaim incrediously, "Dat's Mike Hammer??"

mybillcrider said...

I've seen it. It's pretty awful.

Anonymous said...

Isn't this movie's claim to fame is that it has one of Clint Eastwood's first film appearances?

mybillcrider said...

I think that was REVENGE OF THE CREATURE.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it's pretty dire. Even Stanley Cortez's photography doesn't help.

Cap'n Bob said...

Didn't Clint debut in IN THE NAVY? Or something like that.

mybillcrider said...

He was in a Francis the Talking Mule movie around the same time as the Creature movie. Probably FRANCIS IN THE NAVY.

Fred Blosser said...

IMDB lists REVENGE OF THE CREATURE as Clint's first, and FRANCIS IN THE NAVY as his third. I've always steered against the current in terms of critical opinion about Clint -- I thought he was a vastly underrated actor in his movies with Leone and Siegel, but vastly overrated as a director. Regardless, I admire that he had the vision and perseverance to carve a career for himself and work his way up from his early walk-on parts.

Anonymous said...

fred, you do need to see this movie. It's a must for Mamie's fans, who are legion.

I've always found Maltin's description to be classic (although perhaps he didn't mean it as a recommendation):

1) Look at the title.
2) Examine the cast.
3) Be aware that the plot involves omniverous trees.
4) Don't say you weren't warned.


Now maybe you can resist after that review but I couldn't.

Jeff