Wednesday 26 December 2018

A Tribute to Marshall Thompson






(November 27, 1925 – May 18, 1992) 


Avid photographer, horseman, guitarist and film and television actor: a true multi-talented individual 


American film and television actor, Marshall Thompson was born James Marshall Thompson in Peoria, Illinois. He was an only child and was named James Marshall Thompson after an ancestor, a famed Supreme Court justice. At the age of five, he and his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Laurence B. Thompson, moved to California.

His father set up a successful Westwood dentistry practice. His mother even once took to the stage as a concert singer and musician. Marshall was their only child.

Thompson enrolled at Occidental College intending to become a dentist.

While in high school, Thompson appeared in a number of school productions and was spotted by a local talent agent, but this didn’t lead anywhere. At University High School he was a classmate of Norma Jean Baker, who we know by the name of Marilyn Monroe.

As far as acting went, Marshall Thompson was “re-discovered” while performing as one of the Occidental Players. 





In 1943, Thompson was signed up by Universal Pictures where he went on to play quiet, thoughtful teen roles in feature films. He even scored a lead role playing opposite singing star Gloria Jean in Reckless Age for which he earned $350 per week.

In 1946 after being discharged from Universal, Thompson moved to MGM and had more frequent and superior roles in films such as The Clock and the lead in Gallant Bess, MGM's first Cinecolor film.

While with MGM, Marshall Thompson also appeared films such as Blonde Fever (1944), They Were Expendable (1945) and Bad Bascomb (1946). In addition, there were the war dramas, Homecoming (1948), Command Decision (1948) and Battleground (1949). In Dial 1119 (1950) he appeared as a cold-hearted, baby-faced killer, and wound up his MGM contract with The Tall Target (1951) in which he played a potential assassin of Abraham Lincoln.

In the 1950s, Marshall Thompson became a freelance actor working for various studios. It was during this period that he appeared in science fiction films and TV series. 





From 1955-6, Thompson appeared in seven episodes of “Science Fiction Theatre” on TV. The episodes include;

The Human Circuit: A nightclub dancer claims that she saw a nuclear blast during a seizure she suffered. It seems she had witnessed a top-secret bomb explosion in the Pacific. How to explain her clairvoyant talent scientifically?

Three Minute Mile: Dr. Kendall’s assistant, college student Britt has somehow acquired incredible strength and speed. Is this the result of experiments the doctor is conducting?

The Human Experiment: An enzyme from bees intended to help the mentally ill function in society has had some strange effects on a house full of patients.

Bullet Proof: A bank robber uses a piece of metal salvaged from an alien spacecraft to aid his thefts.

Target: Hurricane: A killer storm mysteriously appears offshore.

The Frozen Sound: Government agents attempt to rescue a kidnapped research scientist.

Stranger In The Desert: Two uranium prospectors locate a rich deposit along with a botanist who seems to have a strange motive. 




In 1955 Marshall Thompson starred with Faith Domergue, in Universal's Cult of the Cobra in which American G.I.s trespass on a Hindu ceremony and are hunted down by a beautiful woman who has the power to transform herself into a cobra! Thompson also appeared in this film with his brother-in-law, Richard Long. 





trailer


In 1958 Thompson starred in the sci-fi thriller, Fiend Without a Face in which a scientist experiments with telekinetic powers that are enhanced by a nearby nuclear power plant and succeeds in creating a new form of life. This new creature manages to escape his laboratory and multiplies the closer it gets to its nuclear power source. 





trailer


In It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), Thompson plays Colonel Carruthers, the sole survivor of the first mission to Mars who is falsely accused of killing his fellow crew members on Mars. Carruthers claims that his crew were killed by a hostile Martian life form. While returning to Earth, the real monster behind the murders has stowed away aboard the rescue ship and begins hunting the crew as they return to Earth! The film's premise would inspire the plot for director Ridley Scott's sci-fi film, Alien (1979).





trailer

Then in 1959, Thompson starred as Commander Prescott in the sci-fi / horror film, First Man into Space in which his character’s brother, hotshot Navy test pilot, Dan Prescott takes the new rocket powered Y-13 plane up on its maiden test flight. Once he reaches the upper atmosphere, Dan disobeys orders and takes the plane further up into space where he encounters a strange cloud of meteor dust with terrible consequences for himself and many others.

Thompson also starred in the 1959 13-episodes syndicated science fiction TV series World of Giants in which the character Mel Hunter, a U. S. counter-espionage agent, is accidentally miniaturized to just six inches in height.

Apart from his appearances at that time in sci-fi and horror B-movies, Marshall Thompson had a couple of notable roles in To Hell and Back (1955) and East of Kilimanjaro (1957), in which he performed his own dangerous stunts and developed a lifelong passion for Africa and wildlife.

In 1960, Thompson guest starred as Arthur Poe in the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Wayward Wife.". He also co-starred with the Belgian-born Annie Fargé in the 33-episode CBS sitcom Angel and later went on to star in two Vietnam War films: A Yank in Viet-Nam (1964) (directed by Thompson) and To the Shores of Hell (1965). 





In 1965 he returned to MGM to play the lead for which he is probably best remembered in the film Clarence, the Cross-Eyed Lion (1965). Thomson played the character, Dr. Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian and single father, raising his daughter by himself in Kenya. The film led to a TV series spin-off called Daktari (1966–1969), in which Thompson played the same role opposite a lion and chimpanzee which served to make him a genuine household name. 




Marshall Thompson died in 1992 from congestive heart failure at age 66 in Royal Oak, Michigan and was survived by his wife Barbara Long whom he married in 1949, his daughter Janet, and grandson Jackson.









©Chris Christopoulos 2018

Saturday 22 December 2018

First Man into Space (1959)



A sci-fi story containing both charm and corny dialogue, told on a modest budget. 



Directed by Robert Day
Produced by John Croydon, Charles F. Vetter, Richard Gordon
Written by Wyott Ordung, John Croydon, Charles F. Vetter
Music by Buxton Orr
Cinematography: Geoffrey Faithfull
Edited by Peter Mayhew
Production company: Amalgamated Productions
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Running time: 78 min.
Budget: $131,000
Box office: $635,000


Cast


Marshall Thompson: Cmdr. Charles Ernest Prescott
Marla Landi: Tia Francesca
Bill Edwards: Lt. Dan Milton Prescott
Robert Ayres: Capt. Ben Richards
Bill Nagy: Police Chief Wilson
Carl Jaffe: Dr. Paul von Essen
Roger Delgado: Mexican Consul
John McLaren: State Dept. Official, Harold Atkins
Spencer Teakle: Ratings Control Room
Chuck Keyser: Ratings Control Room
John Fabian : Ratings Control Room
Richard Shaw: Witney
Bill Nick: Clancy
Helen Forrest: Secretary
Roland Brand: Truck Driver



Trailer


What if?..........

(Spoilers Follow Below……)

Good evening. I’m your host, Bill Bannerman and welcome to tonight’s program, Probing the Past where we will be revealing to you exclusively shocking revelations that cast doubt on the widely held assumption that the Russians were the first to launch a human being into space and return him safely to earth.

Read on for more.......



Friday 30 November 2018

Battle in Outer Space (宇宙大戦争 Uchū Daisensō) (1959)


We shall fight them in space! We shall fight them on the moon! We shall fight them on the earth! We shall never surrender!



Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by omoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Shinichi Sekizawa
Story by Jotaro Okami
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography Hajime Koizumi
Edited by Ichiji Taira
Production company: Toho
Running time: 93 minutes


Cast


Ryô Ikebe: Maj. Ichiro Katsumiya
Kyôko Anzai: Etsuko Shiraishi
Minoru Takada: The Commander
Koreya Senda: Professor Adachi
Len Stanford: Dr. Roger Richardson
Harold Conway: Dr. Immerman
Elise Richter: Sylvia
Hisaya Itô: Kogure
Yoshio Tsuchiya: Iwomura
Nadao Kirino: Gravity Man
Kôzô Nomura: Rocket Commander
Fuyuki Murakami: Inspector Iriake
Ikio Sawamura: Lantern Man
Takuzô Kumagai: Alien
Katsumi Tezuka: Alien


HERE COME THE PLANET SMASHERS!
The Moon is Captured! The Earth is Next!
SPACE DECLARES WAR ON EARTH - OUTLAW PLANET CAPTURES THE MOON!
Space Wages War on Earth!

SEE! Space-shaking last battle of earth rockets vs. flying war saucers!
SEE! Space saboteurs juggle earth's bridges...ships...trains...like toys!
SEE! Earth's minds controlled by rays from outer space!
SEE…
The Biggest Battle Ever Put On Film!


Trailer

Read on for more......

Thursday 8 November 2018

The Atomic Submarine (1959)



A low-budget sci-fi thriller with overbearing narration, grainy stock footage, ordinary effects and cheap sets, but also containing some quite interesting concepts and plenty of action.



Directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet
Produced by Alex Gordon
Screenplay by Orville H. Hampton
Story by Irving Block; Jack Rabin
Music by Alexander Laszlo
Cinematography: Gilbert Warrenton
Edited by William Austin
Production company: Gorham Productions, Inc.
Distributed by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation (US); Warner-Pathé (original, UK)
Running time: 72 minutes
Budget: $135,000 (approx.)


Cast


Arthur Franz: Lt. Cmdr. Richard 'Reef' Holloway
Dick Foran: Cmdr. Dan Wendover
Brett Halsey: Dr. Carl Neilson Jr.
Tom Conway: Sir Ian Hunt
Paul Dubov: Lt. David Milburn
Bob Steele: CPO 'Grif' Griffin
Victor Varconi: Dr. Clifford Kent
Joi Lansing: Julie
Selmer Jackson: Adm. Terhune
Jack Mulhall : Justin Murdock
Jean Moorhead: Helen Milburn
Richard Tyler: Carney
Kenneth Becker: Frogman Powell
Sid Melton: Yeoman Chester Tuttle
Frank Watkins: Watkins




Trailer
 
It's 1968 – 10 years into the future!
Ships and submarines crossing the North Pole have mysteriously vanished!
The nuclear sub, Tiger Shark is sent out to investigate.
What they discover is not so much out of this world as…….
Deep within its waters!


Read on for more.....


Monday 1 October 2018

4D MAN (1959) (THE FOURTH DIMENSIONAL MAN)


An imaginative low budget sci-fi film that strives to break the mould



Directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.
Produced by Jack H. Harris and Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.
Written by Theodore Simonson and Cy Chermak
Cinematographer: Theodore J. Pahle
Art Direction: William Jersey
Makeup Dean Newman
Special Effects: Bart Sloane
Music: Ralph Carmichael




Cast



Robert Lansing as Dr. Scott Nelson
Lee Meriwether as Linda Davis
James Congdon as Dr. Tony Nelson
Robert Strauss as Roy Parker
Edgar Stehli as Dr. Theodore W. Carson
Patty Duke as Marjorie Sutherland
Guy Raymond as Fred
Chic James as B-girl
Elbert Smith as Capt. Rogers
George Karas as Sgt. Todaman
Jasper Deeter as Dr. Welles
Dean Newman as Dr. Brian Schwartz
John Benson as reporter


"A man, an idea, the equipment and a place to work in secret!"
A man possessed with the ability to walk through solid matter!
A man motivated by greed and jealousy!
A man using his powers for his own personal gain!

Ah, but at what cost to himself and to others?



Sneak peak

Read on for more……

Monday 10 September 2018

SCI-FI ON FILM & THE YEAR 1959




We've finally arrived at the final year of our look at the golden decade of science fiction films. Let's start off by having a brief overview of the major events and people that helped to begin to shape our world for the last 60 years.


Review of the year 1959

Read on for more....

Friday 7 September 2018

War of the Satellites (1958)



A typically fast and cheap Roger Corman sci-fi epic and certainly not his best!



Directed by Roger Corman
Produced by Roger Corman
Music by Walter Greene
Distributed by Allied Artists
Running time: 66 minutes
Budget: $70,000 (approx..)


Cast


Dick Miller: Dave Boyer
Susan Cabot: Sybil Carrington
Richard Devon: Dr. Pol Van Ponder
Eric Sinclair: Dr. Howard Lazar
Michael Fox: Jason ibn Akad
Robert Shayne: Cole Hotchkiss
Jered Barclay: John Compo
John Brinkley: Crew Member
Bruno VeSota: Mr. LeMoine
Jay Sayer: Teen
Mitzi McCall: Teen
Roy Gordon: The President



In the office of the head of Allied Artists, the phone noisily and hysterically cries out for the boss’s attention. The boss could tell just by the ring who it would be….

Walter: Hello, Roger. What can I do for you?

Roger: Hey Walt. You know how the Russians sent up that Sputnik last year and scared the hell out of everyone?

Walter: Yeah. What of it?

Roger: Well, I’ve just had a talk with Jack Rabin and he agrees with me that we could capitalize on this Sputnik hysteria with a nice little sci-fi movie of our own!

The wheels in Walter’s mind began to crank up faster and faster at the prospect just put before him by his pal, Corman.

Roger: Hello, Walt. You there?

Walter: Sorry, Roger. Sounds good. What timed frame are we looking at?

Roger: Well, you know me. No dilly-dallying. Just throw a few bucks my way and you’ll have a great little movie with a great story about satellites ready for distribution in about two or three months.

Walt: No kidding? Sounds fine to me Roger. I like the satellite angle. Let’s get the ball rolling! 



As Corman hangs up the receiver he notes that Walter had not even asked him about the story’s details. Good thing too! He figured he could get a first draft screenplay, a full cast and enough of a set together to begin shooting in….say…. a couple of weeks! Principal photography could be wrapped up in about 10 days and in about three months’ time, “War of the Satellites” would be up on US screens. Yes Siree! Don’t let anything stand in the way of a good story and good acting, coz that’s all ya’ really need!

Trailer


What happens when;

A mysterious alien force declares war against planet Earth?

The United Nations disregards warnings to halt its attempts at assembling the first satellite in space?

Read on for more......


Tuesday 14 August 2018

War of the Colossal Beast (1958)


This sequel has competent acting performances, fair direction and ordinary special effects. An obvious attempt at milking dry an already successful formula.

Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Produced by Bert I. Gordon
Written by Bert I. Gordon (story), George Worthing Yates
Music by Albert Glasser
Cinematography: Jack A. Marta
Edited by Ronald Sinclair
Production company: Carmel Productions
Distributed by American International Pictures
Running time: 69 minutes


Cast


Duncan "Dean" Parkin as Lt. Colonel Glenn Manning/Colossal Man
Sally Fraser as Joyce Manning
Roger Pace as Major Mark Baird
Russ Bender as Dr. Carmichael
Rico Alaniz as Sgt. Luis Murillo
Charles Stewart as Captain Harris
George Becwar as John Swanson
Roy Gordon as Mayor
Robert Hernandez as Miguel
George Milan as General Nelson
Cathy Downs as Carol Forrest (flashback scenes)
William Hudson as Dr. Paul Linstrom (flashback scenes)
Larry Thor as Major Eric Coulter (flashback scenes)




Trailer



Spoilers follow below.
Words contained in inverted commas taken from film's dialogue.
Some creative licence taken.



TV News Report

“…..and that’s the latest report on the international scene. Now, on the lighter side of the news…a dispatch from Guavos, Mexico says that Mr. John Swanson is having a little trouble collecting insurance on his stolen truck. What happened to it? Well, according to his claim report, it disappeared without leaving any tracks! Mr. Swanson says something must have carried off his truck.” Perhaps we’ll find out more about this magical disappearing act in the coming days! “And here in Los Angeles…….”

*********


Read on for more.....


Monday 16 July 2018

The Woman Eater (1958)




An entertaining film containing quite a good yarn sandwiched between a silly beginning and an awful ending. 

Directed by Charles Saunders
Produced by Guido Coen
Screenplay by Brandon Fleming
Music by Edwin Astley
Cinematography: Ernest Palmer
Edited by Seymour Logie
Production company: Fortress Film Productions
Distributed by Eros Films
Running time: 70 minutes


Cast


George Coulouris: Doctor Moran
Robert MacKenzie: Lewis Carling
Norman Claridge: Doctor Patterson
Marpessa Dawn: Native Girl
Jimmy Vaughn: Tanga
Sara Leighton: Susan Curtis
Edward Higgins: Sergeant Bolton
Joyce Gregg: Mrs. Santor
Harry Ross: Bristow
Vera Day: Sally
Peter Forbes-Robertson: Jack Venner
Alexander Field: Fair Attendant
Joy Webster Joy Webster : Judy
David Lawton: Man In Club
John A. Tinn: Lascar
Maxwell Foster: Inspector Brownlow
Peter Lewiston: Det. Sergeant Freeman
Roger Avon Roger Avon: Constable




Trailer



A crazed scientist feeding women to a flesh-eating tree!
A serum that can bring the dead back to life!

See the…

REIGN OF TERROR FROM EARTH!


In my previous post on the film, The Trollenberg Terror (1958), I concluded with a brief observation about the role of women in both vintage and modern era sci-fi and other genre films.

The Woman Eater presents us with an interesting insight into the exploitative nature of many films at the time in relation to the portrayal of female characters. It does this in an odd way by seeming to make use of and be almost enumerating every exploitative technique under the sun in its depiction of the female gender. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, The Woman Eater highlights the various ways in which a male-dominated society sets about using and as the title suggests, consuming women for its own benefit.

Such a situation in both the entertainment media of film and TV and in the wider society it reflects would inevitably produce a reaction that would take decades in the making. Consequently, we now have in film and in areas such as politics and the corporate world, more women being represented and brought to the fore either through personal merit, quota systems or positive discrimination.

Unfortunately, in many instances the reaction produced has turned out to be just as problematic as the original set of social circumstances that led to it. As women fill more prominent roles in film and the real world, they are often simply being asked to speak and behave in ways that are sadly indistinguishable from their male counterparts. Little that is unique or distinctive about women is allowed to be explored within an already established system whether it be the depiction of female roles in sci-fi and other films or female conduct in the world of politics and the opportunistic and self-serving corporate sphere.

Could an unintended consequence be the eventual creation of an expanded power elite consisting of an equal proportion of male and female members leaving the rest outside (as Orwell might have put it) looking from woman to man, and from man to woman, and from woman to man again; and being impossible to say which was which……

We seem to have moved away from a world that normalized the idiotic notion of females being seen as fragile and subservient beings in constant need of rescuing and have instead slipped down a rabbit hole into a bizarre world of elitist jack-booted feminism populated by angry and intense females with men being allocated the roles of irrelevant limp under-performing appendages! Such warped notions and outcomes surrounding gender roles and equality are being frequently depicted in modern films, particularly in sci-fi and action-type films.

So, what about this 60-year-old film, The Woman Eater? What makes it stand out from other similar films of its era?

Read on for more......

Wednesday 20 June 2018

The Trollenberg Terror [aka The Crawling Eye] (1958)

An underrated atmospheric sci-fi film that combines competent acting with tight direction but with mediocre special effects.

Directed by Quentin Lawrence
Produced by Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman
Written by Jimmy Sangster
Story by Peter Key
Based on 1956 TV series
Music by Stanley Black
Cinematography: Monty Berman
Edited by Henry Richardson
Production company: Tempean Films
Distributed by Eros Films Ltd. (UK)
Distributors Corporation of America (US)
Running time: 84 minutes






Cast


Forrest Tucker as Alan Brooks
Laurence Payne as Philip Truscott
Jennifer Jayne as Sarah Pilgrim
Janet Munro as Anne Pilgrim
Warren Mitchell as Professor Crevett
Frederick Schiller as Klein
Andrew Faulds as Brett
Stuart Saunders as Dewhurst
Colin Douglas as Hans
Derek Sydney as Wilde
Richard Golding as first villager
George Herbert as second villager
Anne Sharp as German woman
Leslie Heritage as Carl
Jeremy Longhurst as first student climber
Anthony Parker as second student climber
Theodore Wilhelm as Fritz
Garard Green as Pilot
Caroline Claser as Little girl





Trailer



******************







The Independent Star
Your Weekly View into The Unknown….

In this week’s issue…..


  • The disappearance of Professor Quatermass – Dead or In Custody? 
  • What happened to the United States Air Force’s 7,600-pound (3,400 kg) Mark 15 nuclear bomb? Was it simply “lost” in the waters off Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia in the United States? 
  • What is Project A119 and has the US Air Force detonated a nuclear bomb on the moon? If so, then why?


Feature Article



A remote Swiss mountain resort under threat! 

Alien invaders! 

Telepathic communication! 
Mysterious extra-terrestrial inhabitants of a radioactive cloud!


Be amazed by Philip Truscott’s strange account of the events in which he personally took part, in his article, “The Trollenberg Terror.

Read on to find out more about the horror of the Trollenberg Terror.......