Creature with the Atom Brain (1955)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Edward L. Cahn

Writer:

Curt Siodmak (writer)

Release Date:

July 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

He Comes from Beyond the Grave!

Plot:

An ex-Nazi mad scientist uses radio-controlled atomic-powered zombies in his quest to help an exiled American gangster return to power.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Scientist | Revenge | Geiger Counter | Ex Nazi

Cast

Richard Denning	...	Dr. Chet Walker
Angela Stevens	...	Joyce Walker
S. John Launer	...	Capt. Dave Harris
Michael Granger	...	Frank Buchanan
Gregory Gaye	...	Dr. Wilhelm Steigg (as Gregory Gay)
Linda Bennett	...	Penny Walker
Tristram Coffin	...	Dist. Atty. MacGraw
Harry Lauter	...	Reporter #1
Larry J. Blake	...	Reporter #2 (as Larry Blake)
Charles Evans	...	Chief Camden
Pierre Watkin	...	Mayor Bremer

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1955) | USA:Unrated | Sweden:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Ranch, Verdugo Ave. and Pass Avenue, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Clover Productions

Trivia:

The film uses the old Columbia Ranch back lot in Burbank, now named the Warner Brothers Ranch, extensively filming on its residential and city street sets. The shot showing the "Monroe Air Force Base" utilized the ranch's entrance with its two gate houses.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Jet planes are supposedly shown patrolling the city air space in order to detect a house emanating radioactivity. It's ludicrous to think that an aircraft traveling at supersonic speed would be able to isolate radioactivity in a single building.

Quotes:

Frank Buchanan: Is he dead?
Dr. Wilhelm Steigg: He never was alive.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

A fifties "B" classic!

I first saw this film when I was about twelve years old on T.V., and at the time I didn't think it was anything special. I saw it again recently for the first time thanks to modern miracle of video. I must admit that I remember many scenes from this minor little picture more vividly than much better films I saw as a kid: atomized Karl "Killer" Davis busting into a room to break the back of a gangster, the scene where Richard Denning discovers his partner has become a zombie, and the films climax where an army of creatures with atom brains do battle with the police. Oh! and I almost forgot, the scene where walking dead "Uncle Dave" tears Richard Denning's daughters doll to shreds. In retrospect, the scene makes little sense, but it came as quite a shock.

Most of the cast is acceptable. Edward L. Cahn's direction is perfunctory but he keeps things moving. Seen today by younger audiences influenced by MST3K or cheaply cynical critics like John Stanley and Randy Dreyfus, CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN probably looks pretty bad. However, if one views this film in the right frame of mind, it is very entertaining.

Apparently CREATURE WITH ATOM BRAIN has effected a lot of people over the years. Clips from this film have turned up on few TV shows and movies. Roky Erikson (13 Floor Elevators) wrote and titled a song about this movie on his album "The Evil One". He even incorporated lines from the movie in his song "Creature With The Atom Brain."