The Horror of Party Beach (1964)

Atomic waste creates mutated monsters which attack annoying teenagers, so not the most original of movies.

It is the 1960s so of course just dumping barrels of radioactive waste in the sea just off beaches where people party is A-OK. Unfortunately one of these barrels springs a leak and creates a bizarre race of blood drinking monsters. The blood is first provided by Tina (Marilyn Clarke) who is having a swim after having a tiff with her boyfriend at a beach party where much rock and roll is played. The attacks soon escalate though including a twenty teen girl slumber party which is wiped out by these monsters.

Luckily Dr Gavin (Allan Laurel) has a solution: sodium! As Hank (John Lyon) heads to NY to buy supplies of sodium, his girlfriend (Alice Lyon) is in peril from the monsters at a quarry...

So, this is fairly generic and low budget. The monsters are ridiculous of course but that adds to the film's camp charm. It is rubbish, but fun rubbish and that makes it very watchable.

The Revenge of Doctor X (1967)

A bizarre monster movie where a carnivorous mobile plant creature wreaks havoc.

Dr Bragan (James Craig), the angriest NASA scientist ever, goes to Japan to calm down. However, his assistant Noriko (Atsuko Rome) takes him to a weird looking building next to an active volcano where the caretaker plays dark gothic organ and creeps around so i'm not sure how well this helps his mental health. 

Bragan is any case is busy with his new project, cross breeding a Venus fly trap with another strange plant he found in the US after talking to a man with mud all over his face. Bragan creates a new kind of monster with a taste for human blood, obviously it soon it all going wrong...

This is not a good film, it is very shoddily made, very strange and makes little sense (well Ed Wood Jr was one of the writers so what can you expect?) The monster looks ridiculous of course and the film overall is all kinds of cheese.

The Leech Woman (1960)

A surprisingly good low budget horror film.

Dr Talbot (Philip Terry) is on bad terms with his alcoholic wife June (Coleen Grey). However, when he discovers from a mysterious African woman called Malla (Estelle Helmsley) that there is a secret to restoring youth then he suddenly reconciles with his wife and they head to Africa to discover Malla's secret (and make a fortune). After much stock footage, the Talbots end up at Malla's village. There they discover that Malla's secret is an elixir requires an awful ingredient: fluid from a just slain man's brain! Malla has her youth restored (now played by Kim Hamilton) and tells June that she can also have the elixir but she must choose the man who will be killed for her. She chooses her husband!

June manages to escape the village but discovers the effect of the elixir is short lived. She has no problem in killing again and again to return to her youth. When she arrives home she pretends she is her own niece and she has the hots younger men (some of whom she also kills) but the police are already hot on her trail of dead brain fluid drained victims...

This is a great film despite the overuse of stock footage in the African scenes which can drag the film down a bit. The Noir feel, though sometimes unexpected humour too, and the surprises make for an entertaining horror.

What a Carve Up! (1961)

A highly enjoyable comedy crime drama, at times it verges on Carry On territory but thats no bad thing.

Ernie (Kenneth Connor) is told his rich uncle has died by a somewhat sinister solicitor (Donald Pleasance). Ernie heads off to his uncle's country pile with his mate Syd (Sid James), a lonely looking house in the moors. Ernie's fellow family members are a motley crew of weirdos. Then the deaths start happening...

Ernie, Syd and the rest, including the uncle's former nurse (Shirley Eaton) scramble to try and work out what is going on in the strange house and stop the murderer. However, they need to identify who it is first. Surely it must be one of the family members present or is it, in this house riddled with secret doors and passageways...

This is a fine film, most of the time it isn't laugh out loud funny rather than humorous and inventive but it does have it's slapstick and ridiculous moments especially with Connor and James. It has plenty of twists too, it works as a dark house crime drama as well.

Bloodlust! (1961)

A group of young people are hunted by a mad rich man on his private island. This may give some folks some ideas.

The teenagers (including June Kenney and Robert Reed) who are holidaying in a boat discover an island they think is deserted. Unfortunately, they soon discover the island is owned by the somewhat sinister Dr Balleau (Wilton Graff). 

To the teenagers' horror they discover that anyone who lands on Balleau's island becomes his prey, he hunts them down and then turns them into macabre trophies... 

This is a rather poor and tedious rip-off of the Most Dangerous Game (which isn't that brilliant either though leagues above this nonsense), it lacks much in the way of decent thrills or action. Nothing really makes any sense and the tiny budget doesn't really stretch to much.

Gamera vs. Giron (1969)

The rocket firing giant turtle who protects children is back!

Ako (Nobuhiro Kajima) and Tomoko (Miyuki Akiyama) chance upon a landed flying saucer and naturally, being small boys, go on board. The saucer takes off and goes into space. Aliens kidnap the boys to find out what is in their brains, and if they don't find anything interesting they'll eat their brains instead. 

Gamera heads into space to rescue the boys and has to fight the monster Giron who has a gigantic knife sticking out of his nose...

So, this is quite an odd film and definitely aimed at children. The plot is nonsense and it includes the usual destruction of model buildings by people in monster suits. Giron with his big knife is an interesting foe for Gamera for sure and pretty menacing too.

Batman (1966)

I'm usually not a fan of superhero movies, especially the 21st century's bombardment of them, i always feel they take themselves far too seriously... and that is why the first Batman movie is brilliant because it does just the opposite.

A long-form version of the classic Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. As this is a big screen outing for the story one super villain is not enough, instead we have four! The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Joker (Cesar Romero) and Catwoman (Lee Meriweather) team up with a dastardly plan to turn the UN Security Council into powder and extort billions in cash from the world governments.

The bad guys need to get rid of Batman as well but as usual their far too complicated schemes go wrong. There is an interesting subplot though as Bruce Wayne falls in love with a Russian reporter, not realising she is really Catwoman...

This is a fabulously fun film packed full of camp nonsense including Penguin's submarine which has flippers, Riddler writing messages in the sky using Polaris missiles and the batmobile being joined by the batboat, batbike and even the bathelicopter! The best superhero film there is? Probably.

Eegah (1962)

A very curious film indeed, and rather awful.

Teenager Roxy (Marilyn Manning) encounters a huge tall man at night (and faints natch). Later on, her father (Arch Hall Snr) heads into the desert to look for signs of this man and goes missing himself. 

Roxy heads into the desert with mediocre pop singer Tom (Arch Hall Jr) to look for him. They discover a cave man (Richard Kiel) has somehow survived away from civilisation and has taken Roxy's father prisoner, and naturally the cave man takes a liking to Roxy...

Some list this as among the worst films of all times... and they are probably right. The story is terrible and makes no sense and the acting is wooden. We also have some truly awful pop songs to pad the film out. The only good thing about the film is seeing Richard Kiel, who at least has a suitably menacing presence. 

Rocket Attack U.S.A. (1960)

The Soviets have launched Sputnik into space and now the Cold War paranoia is dialled up to 11.

With the Soviets now orbiting the Earth, the US are afraid the Soviets are gathering data before they can launch a deadly nuclear attack. Secret agent John (John McKay) is sent across the border into the Soviet Union - which seems rather easy to be honest - and links up with female agent Tanya (Monica Davis) who is getting pillow talk from the Soviet Defence Minister...

Apparently the Soviets discover they can defeat the US with just one nuclear missile and one is prepared. If only the US had a anti-ballistic missile defence system in place but no doubt a bigger defence budget will help. 

This is a pretty basic Cold War film, heavy on the use of stock footage and propaganda. It is all pretty poor stuff with a minute budget though does include the helpful advice that covering yourself with wet newspaper can help with nuclear blasts!

The Human Duplicators (1965)

A bizarre sci-fi tale of android duplicates of humans.

Dr Kolos (Richard Kiel) is despatched to the Earth to conquer it by duplicating humans and turning them into somewhat unconvincing androids who look like they are made out of ceramic pottery. However, Kolos falls in love with a beautiful woman (Dolores Faith) and changes his mind about the invasion. 

Unfortunately, some of his duplicates already built including one of the scientist Professor Dornheimer (George Macready) and Glenn Martin (George Nader) are already causing trouble...

This is an odd film, with a huge amount of cheese and special effects of the cheapest type. The UFO for example looks like a Christmas decoration! Kiel's character is unintentionally hilarious and it is topped off with one of the most inept final fight scenes ever seen. Terrible but terrific too.

Agent for H.A.R.M. (1966)

A rather poor and low budget 1960s spy drama, actual James Bond spoofs can be more realistic.

H.A.R.M. agent Adam Chance (Mark Richman) is tasked with protecting an ex-Soviet scientist called Dr Steffanic (Carl Esmond) who has developed a new weapon that kills people with a spore which literally eats the victim alive. 

Chance meets Steffanic though seems more interested in the niece Ava (Barbara Bouchet) who seems allergic to wearing anything more substantial than a bikini. Steffanic is working on an antidote to the spores before the enemy can unleash them on the good old US of A. However, there is more to Ava than meets the eye...

Chance doesn't exactly cut a very dashing 1960s secret agent figure. Instead of a suave DJ, he squeezed his middle aged frame into a yellow cardigan! The action is mostly pretty poor though the scene where Chance is on a motorbike and fighting an agent in a light plane is pretty good. The film seems like it was made on a budget of about 25¢ though does make the most of it. It is fun if approached with the right frame of mind.

The Secret of the Purple Reef (1960)

A reasonable enough little adventure, though can't really be called more than almost competent.

After the loss of their brother's ship, brothers Mark (Jeff Richards) and Dean (Richard Chamberlain) decide to investigate what went wrong. They find the loss of the ship is linked to another ship, a freighter, which sank off St Kitts in the West Indies. The freighter was owned by Weber (Peter Falk) who seems rather dodgy and is keen for them to not investigate too closely...

This isn't that bad a film, though you'd struggle to call it good but it is at least watchable. The story is basic, though well structured. The execution is rather poor with some stilted dialogue. The sound track is also completely random (sounding like it comes from a compilation album of Caribbean music) and doesn't match what is shown on the screen at all! 

Peter Falk saves the film with his menacing presence, he often did play a very good villain.

Kitten with a Whip (1964)

A rather grubby little tale involving an aspiring politician and a delinquent girl.

Patton (John Forsythe) arrives home after a hard night's political wheeling and dealing is blissfully unaware that there is a runaway young girl asleep in his daughter's bed! The next morning Patton discovers Jody (Ann-Margret) and assumes she is a plant to cause a political scandal. However, he believes her when she tells him she escaped a broken home and desperately needed somewhere to stay. He buys her some new clothes and, after much stalling, sends her on her way.

Unfortunately, Jody's story wasn't quite true. She was indeed on the run, for stabbing a matron at reform school! She brings some fellow delinquents to Patton's home to take him hostage and involve him in a highly violent and dangerous adventure...

A fine enough film, quite dark and with a sinister air at times. Patton's naivety was essential for the plot but can be a bit annoying at times but Jody's mental instability is certainly compelling.

When the Clock Strikes (1961)

A tasty Noir crime drama that builds and builds.

Sam Morgan (James Brown) is driving in a storm when he meets Ellie (Merry Anders) with a broken down car. They reach a hotel owned by Cady (Henry Corden) which is near a prison where a condemned man is about to hang. Sam reveals that he thinks that it was his evidence that convinced the jury, Ellie reveals she is the condemned wife!

After the execution has taken place, Sam's guilt is dampened somewhat by Ellie's plan to discover where her now ex-husband hid his loot from his last job. Sam enters the dark and paranoid world of crime, but there are more surprises to come... especially when the real wife of the condemned turns up!

This is a highly enjoyable film that draws you in deeper and deeper as the surprises and twists and turns continue. 

The Wizard of Mars (1965)

A rather plodding science-fiction tale, saved by some lovely visuals.

Steve (Roger Gentry) is leading a mission to Mars. The mission runs into trouble when it reaches the red planet and crashes. The crew of four are stuck on the planet and only have a few days oxygen supply left. They find Mars barren except for a few bizarre monsters. 

Finally, they find a cavern inhabited by a Martian collective conscienceness in the form of the Martian Wizard (John Carradine)...

The film is all rather slow though pretty atmospheric. This isn't a standard 1960s science-fiction film, indeed it is all rather psychedelic and at times pretty inventive though it is also a bit dull. Not a great deal happens and the characters are rather annoying. It isn't great and unfortunately isn't terrible enough to be truly entertaining!

The Flim-Flam Man (1967)

An amiable comedy romp about con-men on the road.

Curley (Michael Sarrazin) is an Army deserter on the run from the MPs. He meets Mordecai (George C Scott) on a railway box car and discovers he is a con-man or flim flam man. The pair team up to con various towns folk out of their cash. 

However, the Sheriff (Harry Morgan) is hot on their trail, they team up with rich girl Bonnie (Sue Lyon) - Bonnie falling in love with Curley - to keep ahead of the Sheriff...

A decent film with two charismatic leads who work well together. The story can meander at times but the settings and light feel make this a fairly enjoyable film. The confidence tricks of Mordecai and how he executes them is very interesting. Not amazing but enough to be of interest.

The Bubble (1966)

Given the time period for the sci-fi genre, and the fact the film was originally shown in 3-D, you might think this film could be awful cheese... but actually it is a surprisingly good film.

Mark (Michael Cole) and Catherine (Deborah Walley) are trying to get to a hospital before Catherine gives birth. Their private plane is caught up in a strange storm and lands in a mysterious small town. Everyone in the town seems to act like zombies, repeating the same lines and the same actions over and over again and living in a trance. 

Together with their pilot Tony (Johnny Desmond) they try to escape the town but find it is surrounded by a clear impenetrable barrier. Every seven days a mysterious light in the sky plucks someone to an uncertain but likely to be unpleasant fate up into the heavens above...

The film builds a creepy and mysterious world slowly. We don't really see the aliens (apart from perhaps in one scene) but their presence is everywhere. The leads do well in portraying a growing sense of eerie unease and paranoia. Much remains unanswered but thats no bad thing with a film like this.

Carry on Spying (1964)

The dark and dangerous world of international espionage... for laughs.

STENCH (Society for the Total Extinction of Non-Conforming Humans) have stolen a top secret chemical formula. Unfortunately the only agent available to try and retrieve the formula is bumbling Simpkins (Kenneth Williams) and his three trainees (Barbaras Windsor, Charles Hawtrey and Bernard Cribbins). The four are sent to Vienna to look for the STENCH agents Fat Man and the Milk Man and link up with Carstairs (Jim Dale) to help, unfortunately they prove much more of a hinderance than a help!

Following more hijinks in Algiers and on a train, the four agents end up with the formula but also prisoners of STENCH and the evil Dr Crow (Judith Furse). Can they somehow save the day and foil the evil STENCH?

This is a great send-up of the 1960s spy genre, its packed full of satirical references to other films and TV series. It also has the usual double entrendres, campy humour and a bit of sauce. Not quite the best Carry On film, it lacks the energy and slapstick of the series at it's height, but certainly a good film and pretty funny.

Dimension 5 (1966)

A rather flimsy 1960s spy film with some time travel nonsense tacked on.

A Chinese Communist faction are trying to smuggle a nuclear bomb into America and blow up LA. Justin Power (Jeffrey Hunter) is an agent of a secret US agency who is tasked with stopping them, he is helped by fellow agent Kitty (France Nuyen) and they begin a search for the head of the faction in the US, Big Budda (Harold Sakata). 

Assisting them with their endeavours is a time travel belt which can allow them to jump forward and backwards in time, though despite this apparently game changing technology Power and Kitty still end up having a fist fight with the bad guys in a fireworks warehouse...

This is what it is, a low budget and very campy spy romp. It has all the cliches of the genre and of course is helped out by Oddjob (Sakata) appearing - even if he is terribly dubbed and spends the film in a wheel chair (which rather negates his impressive physical presence). The film is not very good though is pretty watchable and enjoyable if approached in the right way as a 1960s piece of spy film cheese.

The Satan Bug (1965)

A surprisingly good and tense biological horror.

A theft takes place at a US government facility, unfortunately the theft is of some biological agents which have been developed at the facility, one of which (the Satan bug) could potentially wipe out all life in Earth! Former agent Lee Barrett (George Maharis) is bought in to lead the desperate effort to locate who is behind the theft and the weapons. Lee thinks the ringleader is still at the facility and is vindicated when Dr Hoffman (Richard Basehart) is followed and leads him to the weapons.

However, Hoffman is always one step ahead and a desperate race against time ensues across California, Lee assisted by Ann (Anne Francis), and Hoffman seems to have aides and henchmen all over the place...

A highly entertaining film with the tension continually ratcheted up and various swerves and surprises to keep the action fresh. The good cast do very well too. Well worth a watch.