A Quick Look: DESTINATION INNER SPACE (1966 - color)

   For a movie with such a cool monster, good pix from DESTINATION INNER SPACE are sure hard to come by! The film itself is essentially a remake of THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD set in an undersea research facility. The Navy sends a trouble-shooter to a remote sea lab when an underwater flying saucer begins making it's presence known. When the saucer settles down long enough for the scientists to check it out, an alien capsule is taken back to the lab where it begins to grow larger and larger... The cast is filled with familiar faces and voices, including Scott Brady, Gary Merrill, Sheree North, Wende Wagner, Mike Road, and James Hong. Frustratingly, the film is mighty obscure. The single "official" DVD release is a soft, blurry print with faded color (the print that surfaced on TV back in the 90's was gorgeous, so this is doubly disappointing). Also worth noting is Paul Dunlap's rousing score, largely re-recordings of his themes from THE ANGRY RED PLANET and I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF. Man, I sure miss these 60's underwater movies!

A Quick Look: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953 - color)

   Released in 1953, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS was the first (and remains the best) cinematic adaptation of H.G. Wells' famous novel. I'm sure you've seen it, but it's always worth another look. A meteor crashes down in rural California, which turns out to be the flaming vanguard of an invasion from Mars! The film is filled with nice little human details, like a deputy bumming a cigarette without asking for it, a dog lapping up spilled cream from an abandoned ice cream cart, a boy running over to retrieve the rubber ball of a small girl during the exodus from Los Angeles, and so on. Terrific dialog from start to finish. Hauntingly beautiful Technicolor photography highlights Oscar-winning special effects. Most genre pictures of the 50's were B pictures, but THE WAR OF THE WORLDS joins a smaller number of color A productions. Producer George Pal tried to pitch a television series spinoff in the early 70's. The late 80's saw a Canadian sequel series emerge (fairly intriguing show at times, but it's a completely different animal). The film's achievements and all-around swellness have been discussed for decades, but this is one of those rare cases where all the praise is justified.