I couldn’t find a foreign poster for this, but hey, the American poster was very nice. I’d say it’s better than the film, but again, Corman films are deceptively good. Sure, if you compare it Forbidden Planet, it’s not a great movie. However, if you compare it to other sci-fi cheapies from the ’50s, It’s pretty great. As someone committed to getting as many shots in the can as possible each day, you’d expect Corman films to look like those made by, oh, William “One Shot” Beaudine: Cameras locked down in front of action with awkwardly-blocked actors declaiming dialogue they learned ten minutes earlier. Corman, conversely, keeps actors moving in the frame and picks interesting camera angles. The script (Lou Rusoff and, inevitably, Charles B. Griffith) is literate and imaginative. There’s a heavy mood of tragedy provided. The cast is amazingly good for a film of this budget and shooting schedule; Peter Graves and Lee Van Cleef are the leads, with Corman regulars Beverly Garland (fantastic in a nice juice part) and Jonathon Haze and Dick Miller providing comic relief. These films really hold up, as long as you realistic expectations of them.
Oh, and let’s not forget the contributions of the essential Paul Blaisdell. Great stuff.
